A Fix of Wild Magic
by Usagi-Hasano
Summary: Wild Magic, but rewritten. It was a rather normal day for Ranma, but after a meeting with a certain evil wizard, he finds himself in a much different predicament.
1. Chapter 1

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to the people of Fukufics and Lawra for helping with the rewrites.

_I apologize to everyone who have been waiting and waiting for me to update. The reason for my lack of doing so is because I have been working on rewriting Wild Magic, and I originally only intended to rewrite the first five chapters to be better, but then I realized that doing only those would cause more problems than needed in future chapters. I thank the people who have been waiting for me, and I'm sorry for making people wait._

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 1

Situated at the edge of a dense forest was a rather large wooden house. On the outside, it had the appearance of a building that was way past its prime and was due for demolition. Its windows were boarded up, parts of the roof and sides were hanging loose, and the grass around it had grown to an alarming size. It would have been an obvious thought to anybody looking on that the house would be abandoned.

However, if one were to step inside, they would find that the interior completely betrayed the old and dilapidated appearance on the outside in favor of one that was clean and livable. Tables and chairs were neatly placed, a fireplace was roaring and providing ample lighting, and it seemed relatively well kept. Magic was also cast to allow one to see out of the boarded up windows.

Within one of the chairs near the roaring fire sat a man in a long cloak. The lighting from the fireplace caused shadows to obscure most of his features except for a pair of piercing eyes that held within them a cruel light. As he sat within the chair, he clasped both of his hands together in front of the lower half of his face and stared forward in deep contemplation.

He was Voldemort, a dark wizard of incredible power who could instill panic and terror into just about anyone with just the mere mention of his name. He was a being who was feared by many in the wizarding world of Europe, and even those far outside of the region and in other continents had heard of him and his cruelty. The Dark Lord Voldemort, a wizard who had power unmatched by anyone other than another wizard who went by the name of Albus Dumbledore. As such, there was not many people that Voldemort found reason to truly worry about, because to him, they were just annoying gnats.

But that didn't mean that the Dark Lord was free of worries, for he found himself having an odd and reoccurring vision every time he slept, and it was the same exact thing every night for the past week. He honestly did not know what to think of it, but he knew that it couldn't mean anything good.

The vision always contained the same young dark-haired male with braided hair whose facial features defined him as being Asian… most likely Japanese. Perhaps the oddest thing was that the person seemed to change between male and female, with the latter form being shorter with red hair. If anything, Voldemort would have guessed that the person was a metamorphmagus.

That in itself wasn't weird. Strange in that he kept having that particular vision, yes, but nothing of true concern. What really caused alarms within the Dark Lord's brain was the rest of the vision. The being within his visions had an odd projection floating around his or her form, and that projection always took the form of a woman with long golden blonde hair that reached down passed her waist and didn't seemed confined by gravity. Her eyes, however, could never be seen as they were hidden by shadows. There seemed to almost be an aura of power linking both her and the other person.

What was even creepier about it all was that the possible metamorphmagi possessed the eeriest set of eyes that he had ever seen. They seemed to almost be able to look straight into one's own soul; seemingly able to read every little secret and leave one with a feeling of inferiority. What's worse was that those orbs held absolutely no emotion or light in them at all and just seemed _'dead'._ He hated those eyes with every fiber of his being.

Then came the moment within the vision that always caused him to wake. The male or female being would simply glance in his dream self's direction, raise a hand, and send out an invisible force that would crash into him and send him flying into a wall. The dead-eyed demon would then start making steps for him all the while causing pain to his body. Once just a foot away and baring down on him, the unknown assailant would pull out a shovel with a bladed edge from seemingly nowhere and hold it up high. Emotionless lips would then curve upward into an evil smile before bringing the shovel down and ending the vision.

A shiver ran down Voldemort's spine as he remembered. Those eyes; it almost seemed as if they were accusing him of being weak. As if they looked at him as if he was nothing but a mere muggle. It filled him with unbridled fury… and yet also caused the odd sensation of fear to well up within him. Could his vision actually be trying to tell him that there would soon be someone out there who would be able to oppose him with power far greater than his own? Was that person lurking out there in the shadows just waiting for a chance to strike? No, he would not allow that to happen.

"I must strike first before he or she gets the chance to." Voldemort said to himself with resolve. It was a good thing that he had given descriptions of the possible metamorphmagus to his Death Eaters.

"My, my, so raring to go I see." An unknown and almost playful voice said from behind. This caused the dark wizard to instantly leap out of his seat, turn around, and fire off a flash of green light from his wand… only to watch it fly right on by the intruder. "Jumpy too. You should really be careful; you almost hit the informant."

Not lowering his wand, Voldemort took in the appearance of the person who had somehow managed to sneak up on him without any kind of sound. The intruder was dressed in the normal guise of his Death Eaters, and so he 'almost' lowered his wand. What caught his eye was the short, purple shade of hair that he could just make out, and there was also the matter of the strange staff held at the man's side. It was a long wooden staff with a red gem resting on the top. It wasn't something that the Dark Lord had seen in the possession of his underlings before.

"Before I do anything," The dark wizard drawled while still pointing his wand at the unknown entity, "I demand to know who you are and how you snuck up on me. The severity of your punishment depends upon how you answer."

Giving a small chuckle, the 'Death Eater' raised his hands in an effort to try and show that he meant no harm. "I'm just a loyal supporter of the great and all powerful Dark Lord Voldemort. I even made my outfit myself, and so I hope it looks just like the real thing." In reality, he just simply formed the 'outfit' around himself. "I also learned of your plight, and I may have found out just who it is that you are having visions of."

The Dark Lord's eyes momentarily flashed with interest before narrowing. "Is that a fact? Come, tell Lord Voldemort the identity of the worm so that I may squash it like the pest it is."

"A pleasure to do so, my lord." Behind his mask, the man found that he couldn't stop smirking. The so-called 'Dark Lord' was such an amusing human.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Sure is a dark day today.' Ranma Saotome thought as he stared up at the clouded sky. An arc of lightning flashes brightly, and it was soon followed by an immense clap of thunder. As the raven-haired boy stood crouching upon the top of a fence, he couldn't help but wish that he had an umbrella with him. Turning into a girl wasn't really something that he wanted to put up with again that day, and so he hoped that his luck would hold out enough so that he could stay dry and get back to the Tendo Dojo.

'Damn tomboy was really ticked over such a small accident.' Thinking about the event caused Ranma to wince as he leapt to his feet and started running along the top of the fence. Akane had obviously been furious with him… if her angry scream of 'die Ranma' and brandishing of a shinai weren't enough of a sign already. Since he hadn't had the desire to be a smear upon the floor, the young Saotome had opted to dodge out of the way of her attacks before running off in hopes that the girl would calm down later.

A droplet of water against his nose brought Ranma out of his thoughts and caused him to look up at the sky. 'Be nice rain clouds and let me get back before ya start!' Another droplet landed upon his nose. 'Oh c'mon, I just wanna remain dry. Why-- huh?'

Out of the corner of his eye, the teenaged martial artist thought he saw a flash of light bearing right for him. His reflexes were what saved him from, for just a second before the attack hit, Ranma bent backwards and watched as the beam flew harmlessly by. "What was that?" He asked himself as he straightened up and glanced around warily to see if he could spot his attacker.

"Impressive." A cold voice said. It almost sounded as if it was coming from all around the martial artist. "Lord Voldemort isn't one to normally give praise to a muggle, so you should feel accomplished."

Ranma couldn't help but bring a pinky to his ear in an effort to see if there was something wrong with his hearing. The voice sounded as if it was speaking in English, but he could have sworn that it was instantly changing into Japanese only a moment later. It also didn't help that it almost seemed like surround sound. "I dunno why ya just attacked me, or who ya are, but could this wait until another time? I wanna try and get inside before-- whoa!" He had to jump away from the section of fence he was standing on due to another attack causing it to explode. 'What kind of techniques is this guy using?' Ranma thought as he dodged another attack, but this time he caught sight of where they were coming from.

Using his foot to kick up a small pebble, Ranma watched for the signs of another attack. He didn't have to wait long, and as he dodged the next one, he let the pebble fly with a fast and powerful throw. He watched as his aim hit dead on, and revealed his attacker to have previously been -- to his immense curiosity and shock -- invisible. 'What kinda technique was that?'

Voldemort let out a silent curse when the projectile slammed into his hand and knocked his wand a few feet away. It had the added effect of canceling out his disillusionment charm that kept him invisible view. He knew about the muggle's abilities, but assumed that he could easily take the upstart out by being hidden and firing his spell when the teen was least expecting. 'This is an insult to someone of my stature.'

Looking around for his wand, Voldemort was distressed to find out that it was nowhere to be seen. "My wand! Where is it?" The Dark Lord growled in annoyance.

"Looking for this?" A voice asked from above. He then found his vision blocked by the upside down face of his intended victim who was dangling his wand in his hand. Anger rose up within Voldemort's being when he saw his wand being held by a lowly muggle, and it only festered when he found that the upstart was actually crouching upon his noble head as if he were nothing. "Seems kinda silly."

Silly? He dare call Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard in the world silly? "Muggle," the Dark Lord snarled, "You have just forfeited what would have been a painless death." Voldemort proceeded to quickly snap his hand out and snatch back his wand. "The injustice that you have just served to I, Lord Voldemort, shall be repaid by the anguished screams that will come from your tortured body!" He tried to attack the boy once again, but found that his prey was too quick to move out of the way.

Ranma couldn't help but sweat a little. "Ya know, I get the feeling that you really want to kill me." An explosion from the ground sent him flying backwards and onto his ass. 'Yep, I think he means it.' He thought as he jumped back to his feet. "Listen, Moldywart--"

"THAT'S VOLDEMORT YOU IGNORANT VERMIN!" The wizard shouted in anger and hatred as he extended his hand and sent out a powerful magic pulse that sent Ranma flying into the side of a wall.

Shaking his head to clear out the birdies swarming within his vision, the young Saotome glanced up to see gusts of wind encircling his opponent as he held his wand up high. 'Maybe I went just a little too far.' The rain that had held up until then began to fall, and Ranma soon found himself shifting into his other form. 'I probably would've made it if it weren't for this guy…'

"So you do change into a female, and not under your own power." Voldemort observed with a cold indifference. Deciding that it'd be best to finish it before what happened in his visions actually happens, Voldemort pointed his wand at his downed opponent and fired off an Avada Kedavra. The blinding green jet of light flew towards its target, but only missed as the boy-turned-girl jumped up and pushed herself off the wall via her feet. "Why won't you stay down, filthy muggle?!"

"Ya keep calling me that," Ranma began as she landed in front of the man and performed a leg sweep, "But I have no idea what that is." Looking behind, she couldn't help but let out a low whistle at the green fire that was caused by the explosion to the wall where she had previously been. "Those are some neat abilities you got, Voldypart."

"Muggle, you are the most infuriating piece of vermin…"

"Ranma!" Akane's angered voice rang over the pouring of the rain.

"Huh?" Ranma let out intelligently as she turned her head into the direction that the shout had come from.

Her momentary lapse of attention proved to be just the opening that Voldemort had waited for. Without any hint of hesitation, he pointed his wand at the distracted teen and softly uttered the words 'Avada Kedavra'.

Ranma soon only saw blackness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next time Ranma opened her eyes, she quickly glanced around for any sign of the jackass that had blindsided her because of the tomboy's shout. It didn't take long before she found the object of her ire staring down right at her with cold, evil eyes. "That was a cheap shot!" Ranma shouted in anger as she hopped to her feet. "I outta--" She blinked when she noticed that her opponent wasn't staring at her and only continued to look downward. "Hey, yoo-hoo, anybody home?" The redhead asked as she waved a hand in front of his face. Still getting no response, she decided to give the man a tentative poke, but froze when she found that her hand just went through his body.

"W-- What the hell?" Ranma shouted and jumped back. 'Why did my hand go through him? That's never--' Her thoughts ended abruptly once she noticed a body lying on the ground just a few feet away. It only took a moment to figure out just who was laying there. "I-- is that…?" Moving closer to the downed form, Ranma was able to see that the body was indeed her own. "I'm… dead?" She finally asked herself before proceeding to do the one thing she could think of; trying to shake and slap her body awake.

"Hey, c'mon, wake up!" The red-head shouted as her hands passed on through her former physical shell. "Damn it, I can't die like this! This isn't fair at all!" Turning her attention back onto the man who killed her, Ranma watched as he began to move away. "Hey," she shouted as she sped over to the retreating wizard and attempted to punch him, "Don't walk away! Come back here and fix this you jerk!" Her fist moved right through his head, and she tumbled forward. When she came to a stop, Ranma noted that she was hovering upside down. 'Great, now I'm stuck floating in the air.'

Struggling to right herself and get the hang of at least one of her problems, Ranma watched as Voldemort seemed to just vanish into thin air. "I don't wanna be a ghost!" The redhead whined out.

"Actually," a cheerful voice spoke, "You are not truly a ghost yet. You are just a minor spirit. If you WERE a true ghost, then that wizard -- as well as others -- would have likely seen you."

Spinning around, the now deceased teenager couldn't help but gawk at the sight of a blue-haired woman. She was dressed up in a bright pink kimono and riding on top of an oar as if it was a witch's broom. Within the woman's hand was a small booklet that she was flipping through.

"Err," Ranma began as soon as she found her voice, "Who are you?"

"Botan." The mystery woman answered with a smile. "I'm here to serve as a guide on your journey to Reikai."

"So you're kinda like a shinigami?"

"Bingo!" She chimed happily as she closed the thin booklet and put it away. "So if you are ready, we can leave quickly and get there in no time at all."

"Hey," Ranma began as she remembered something the woman before her said a few moments ago, "You mean the guy I just fought was a wizard?"

Botan's smile faltered at the question. "That man you faced was an incredibly powerful dark wizard who refers to himself as Lord Voldemort. He's probably the most powerful one in the entire world at this time, and both he and his followers have given us quite a lot of work by killing a multitude of people without remorse. He also has the view that non-magical people are undeserving of life and should all be destroyed to pave the way for the magic-capable."

Crossing her arms and legs as she floated, Ranma couldn't help but wish that she had actually taken that fight seriously instead of messing around. She felt completely and utterly robbed, and she wished it was possible to have another chance against this Voldemort guy. 'Just how many more people are gonna die?'

"R-- Ranma?" The familiar voice caused the spirit to quickly spin around. There, right next to her former body, was Akane. The youngest Tendo daughter was attempting to shake the body awake. "C'mon you idiot, this isn't funny." The umbrella that she was carrying was lying on the ground just a few feet away, and so she had no protection against the pouring rain. "I-- I didn't really mean it earlier when I told you 'die Ranma'. Don't do this to me." It was hard to tell if her cheeks were wet from the rain or from her own tears.

"Aw jeez, don't tell me that she's going to think that she was responsible for my death." Ranma complained as she crouched down next to her body and stared into the distraught eyes of her -- now no longer -- fiancée. It was the only thing she could even think of being able to do at the moment. As she watched, she saw a few people start to gather around, while Yuka and Sayuri-- who had apparently witnessed the event from a safe distance -- handed Akane back her umbrella and gave her an explanation of what happened.

Needless-to-say, the youngest Tendo daughter seemed to fully break down once she learned that it was her shout from earlier that distracted Ranma enough for the mystery attacker to land a killing blow.

"I can't watch this anymore." Ranma finally said as she watched an ambulance pull up. Floating over to Botan, the late redhead landed and crouched down on the tip of the floating oar. "I'm sure she'll get over it soon. After all, she's no longer trapped in an engagement she doesn't want; won't have to deal with the 'perverted idiot' anymore."

"You're taking this all rather well." Botan said as she stared at the perched spirit.

There was a moment of silence before Ranma spoke up. "S'not like anything I could do right now matters anyway. I'm dead, and that's all there is to it." Sighing, she placed her arms behind her head. "Ready to leave whenever you are, shinigami."

Botan flashed him a happy smile. "Very well!" The oar promptly started to soar into the air. "By the way, the name is Botan, not shinigami."

"Gotcha"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma couldn't help but blink as she watched countless oni sit at behind desks filing and signing papers. Many of them even had computers with which they were typing furiously away on. There were even some who were taking breaks at a water cooler to the far left of the room. "Are you trying to tell me that Reikai is no more than some kind of business?" She asked as she watched a few oni run on by with stacks of papers. One wouldn't realize it from the rather ominous hallway that they had to walk through before getting there.

"Well, it does get things done." A voice answered in a matter-of-fact manner. After Ranma glanced around for a moment, the same voice spoke up. "Look down. Why don't people ever look this way?"

Complying, the redhead lowered her gaze to see what looked like a young child dressed in a blue coat and hat. Around his small waist was a red sash, and his pants were a yellow color. Upon his head was a large hat with the kanji symbol for 'king', and just below it on the red boarder was the word 'Jr.'. One of his most defining features was the large pacifier held within his mouth. "Hello"

"Err-- Hi" Ranma greeted back. Of all the things she expected, running into a child was not one of them. Then again, she wasn't expecting an office environment for the otherworld either. She watched in curiosity as Botan gave a bow to the kid.

"Greetings, Koenma-sama, is your father currently available?" Upon noticing the perplexed look upon their guest's face, the spirit guide placed a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry about that, Ranma. The one you see standing before you is Koenma, the son of Enma Daioh-sama."

"Ah," Ranma answered with a nod of understanding. Her eyes then proceeded to snap wide in shock. "Wait, you mean _**THE**_ Enma?!"

"Of course, do you know any other Enma?" Koenma asked in amusement. "You better be on your best behavior, or he may rip out your tongue."

The late Saotome couldn't help but take a small step back. "H-- He really does do that kinda thing?" Her answer was obtained when Botan almost fell over laughing. "Oh, real funny." Ranma grumbled to herself. Before she could do anything else, however, an oni tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, but are you one Saotome Ranma?" He asked as he adjusted his thick glasses. Within his hand was a thick notebook, and in his other was a pen. At the redhead's confirmation, the oni cleared his throat. "Enma Daiou-sama will see you now. Please follow me and mind your manners."

Nodding numbly, Ranma followed right behind the creature and towards a large set of double doors. Botan followed close behind, but Ranma didn't make any acknowledgement of the fact and instead kept wondering what King Enma was really like. Hopefully he didn't hate her guts and decided to send her to hell for some reason.

"A Saotome is here to see Enma Daiou-sama." The oni guide stated through an intercom next to the double doors. There wasn't much of a wait before said doors slowly swung open. The oni proceeded to step out of the way to allow her to pass. "After you."

"Yeah, thanks." The deceased martial artist gathered her breath before stepping on through the entry way. Upon reaching the other side, she couldn't help but notice that the place looked more like a giant, spacious office than anything else. 'This whole business thing is still weird…'

"Greetings, Saotome Ranma." The deep voice caused the redhead to snap her head forward. There, before her, was a large desk with an equally larger man sitting on the other side of it. His sheer size literally made her feel like an ant in comparison. The giant's outfit was regal in appearance, and on top of his head was an ornate hat to match. Upon his prominent nose was a set of thin glasses, and he possessed a thick beard that covered just about the lower half of his face.

"Uh-- Yo" Ranma answered as she raised a hand. She was promptly smacked upside the back of the head by Botan who told her to be 'more respectful'.

Deciding to let it slide, King Enma continued on. "First, let me say that I am deeply sorry for your untimely death at the hands of the dreaded killing curse. I can't begin to tell you just how many people have been killed by it over the last several years thanks to that man who calls himself Lord Voldemort. It usually doesn't matter if people die, since that is what happens to everybody eventually. However, many of these people -- like yourself -- weren't originally supposed to die until much later."

Ranma's eyes gained a hopeful light. "Does that mean I can go back?"

"I'm afraid not." The giant answered. "While it is possible to revive a person, and it has happened -- albeit rarely -- in the past, the cause of your death prevents you from going back even if you went about the correct method."

Her hope deflated, but her curiosity peaked. "What do you mean by that? I saw my body, and it didn't seem damaged at all."

"The Avada Kedavra is a magic spell that kills a person by working on both a spiritual and magical level. It magically stops every single function within the body all at once, and then it goes to work completely severing the spiritual lines that connect the soul to the body, forcefully ejecting it, and basically sealing off the body from any 'living' soul. It is beyond our understanding here as to just how to solve the issue." King Enma answered as he read from a sheet of paper that contained the findings and research on the subject.

"That's not fair." Ranma pouted. Why did some jerk with magical powers have to go around tossing a one-hit perma-kill attack at people? 'I really hate magic…'

A loud cough from King Enma grabbed her attention. "Well, your situation isn't really all that bad. Based upon your abilities and a few other factors, you have some options available to you." The giant man flipped a few pages in a booklet until he came to the right one. "You could always take up a position as a Spirit Detective. As one, you would be able to use your abilities to capture spiritual beings causing trouble on Earth. There are also positions available for a new spirit guide. Hmm… it looks like there's also--"

"Enma Daiou-sama," interrupted a voice from the intercom, "You have a special visitor waiting to see you. She says that it is an urgent matter that can't wait."

The ruler of Reikai gave an undignified snort. "And just who is this woman to think that her business is more urgent than anything else?"

"I believe she says her name is Skuld."

Ranma watched as King Enma's eyes widen in shock before quickly ordering the oni on the other side to let this Skuld person in. Ranma figured that whoever this person was, she must have been powerful and intimidating enough to cause such a reaction from the lord of the underworld. Hearing the door open from behind, the redhead turned around and watched in trepidation as the woman in question set foot through the doorway.

She promptly fell flat on her face when the newcomer, who caused the great King Enma to sweat, appeared to be nothing more than a 10-year-old girl. After picking herself up, she managed to get a better look at her. She did appear to be nothing more than a 10-year-old with long raven black hair and brown eyes. Her outfit seemed kind of odd and consisted of what seemed like a light pink dress and gloves with dark red trim. There was also a gold belt around her waist. The most defining features, however, were her triangle facial tattoos -- one on her forehead and two below her eyes -- and the strange looking mallet strapped to her back.

"Hey," Ranma asked as she leaned towards Botan, "Who's that kid?"

"Skuld" Botan whispered back. There was some awe evident within the blue-haired reaper's voice. "She's the goddess of the future."

The late Saotome gave her an incredulous look. 'That squirt, a goddess?' She was starting to wonder if she were merely suffering a weird dream brought on by ingesting Akane's cooking.

"Sorry to intrude, Enma Daiou-sama, but I was given an urgent assignment from Kami-sama." She wasn't sure why the almighty had picked her for the assignment, but she felt a sense of duty to try and see it through. "I was told that there'd be someone by the name of…" Skuld trailed off when she caught Ranma. "Hey," she started as she ran over to the redhead, "Are you Saotome Ranma?"

"Y-- Yeah, what about it?" She didn't know what else to say. It wasn't every day that you died and met a goddess while standing around in the underworld inside the office of King Enma.

Skuld pumped the air in excitement. "Alright! This assignment is going to be easier than I thought it would be!" Offering a bright and childish smile to the redhead, she continued on. "Okay, listen, I'm Skuld; goddess of the future and second class, first category, limited license, and I'm here with an important message to you from Kami-sama. He says that you are to be returned back to life immediately."

"Really?!" Ranma asked as she clasped her hands around the young goddess's. Her eyes were shining with hope. Upon receiving a short nod from the momentarily shocked Skuld, she began to dance around in joy while still latched onto the youngest Norn. "Gonna return to my body, gonna live again!"

"Err," Skuld let out softly, "You won't be able to return to your body." That got the redhead to stop.

"But you said--"

"That you are to be returned back to life." Skuld clarified. "That doesn't mean that it'll be your previous body. You'll live again, but it'll be through being reborn into a different body."

Ranma crossed her arms. "I'll pass then. If I can't return to my own body, then I don't care."

"B-- But why?" Skuld asked in shock. "You'll be able to live again almost instantly! By going about this rebirthing method, you'll even keep your memories. This is a chance that hasn't been offered to anyone else in thousands of years." Her important assignment was starting to look like it'd be a difficult one.

"Ranma," the teen in question turned her attention to Botan. "You know, if you go through with this, you just might get the chance to have a rematch against Voldemort. Also, think of how many more people could possibly die because of him. Do you really want something like that to happen when you could do something to eventually stop him? He doesn't even discriminate when it comes to killing, and his victims are Men, Women, AND even Children."

A grimace appeared on Ranma's lips as she thought it over. She really did want to get back at the jerk for what he did, and if she refused this chance, she didn't know if she could ever put up with the fact of knowing that she allowed countless others die due to inaction. Besides, maybe having another life wouldn't be all that bad.

"…alright, I'll do it."

With a happy cheer, Skuld jumped forward and gave the redhead a quick hug over the fact that she _**WASN'T**_ going to mess up such an important assignment. After a moment, the goddess broke off the hug and stepped back. Reaching into the pouch held at her side, Skuld began to rummage for the item needed to finish the assignment. "Where is it, I know I put it in here. It should be-- Ah!" She promptly pulled out what she was looking for and held it up high.

"A sticker?"

"Well, it's actually a Rebirth Seal. It usually takes forever to obtain the permission to have and use one, because it's required to go through a large amount of paper work. Even then the request for one could be denied unless there's a good reason for needing it." Skuld said as she took a moment to observe the object. It was only now, after it was mentioned, when she noticed that it did indeed look like a normal sticker. "I was lucky that I was granted instant access to one because of the importance of this assignment." The young goddess once more felt a sense of pride at being able to do a special assignment. "Could you lean forward a little so I can make sure I put it on right?"

Slightly wary, but nodding in compliance, Ranma leaned forward just enough so that the other girl could attach the seal. Once the task was finished, Ranma stood back up and brought her hand to her forehead. "So what now?"

"Next is the activation incantation." Skuld answered as she raised her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. Though the young goddess wasn't able to use magic very well, she could still get the task done due to the seal having its own magic that just requires chants. _"O seal of instantaneous rebirth, I beseech you to allow this young woman the gift to live once again -- along with memories intact -- within the realm of Midgard."_

As the seal began to glow and spread throughout her body, Ranma -- feeling a sense of dread with the 'young woman' part of the spell. "H-- Hey, Skuld, I'm a--" She had to stop and try to hold back a shout of pain as the seals started to give off a powerful burning sensation. "I-- I'm a g-- guy…"

Her statement was lost on deaf ears as the goddess was lost within the incantation. _"…may she safely traverse the path of rebirth and return to the mortal plane, in the form seen, before this immortal host."_ Once Skuld finished, the seal markings that spread throughout Ranma's body began to glow brightly and form a sealing circle upon the floor. "Whew, I was able to finiEEP!" She was shocked to find herself being grabbed by the collar and pulled towards an oddly irate -- and sweaty -- redhead. "Um… too painful?"

Ranma wanted to shout out 'yes' and hit the goddess upside the head, but there were more pressing matters to deal with. "Did you just send me down to be reborn as a girl?"

Skuld could only nod as she stared into a pair of furious eyes. The slight gasp that came from Botan also reached her ears. She was confused as to why the girl would be angry with what she did, because the one before her WAS a girl, right?

"Why? I'm a guy, damn it!"

"What? But…" The young goddess trailed off as she glanced over the taller girl's body, but couldn't see how the girl could be male when she was obviously female. "But you look female."

"I _**AM **_a boy. I'm only a girl because of Jusenkyou. If you get me some hot water--"

"That won't work." Botan interrupted with a cough. "You died while in female form, and so your spirit ended up female. If you had died as a male, then it would have been the opposite." She couldn't believe that the issue totally slipped her mind.

Ranma's body froze at hearing those words. "NO!" She shouted as she tried to peal off the sticker, but to no avail. "Nonononononono! This can't be happening!"

"W-- Well," Skuld began in a small voice, "I could stop the rebirthing process, and then I could re-cast it to have it send you down as a male instead of female, but--"

"BUT WHAT?!" The redhead shouted as she shook the goddess. The seals were getting brighter and brighter by the moment.

"I-- I forgot the incantation to stop it." It was said in a low voice, but it still managed to reach the ears of the distraught former martial artist. "I spent a longer time learning how to activate it, and so I can't remember the full deactivation chant." She never imagined that it would turn out like this, and if she had, she would have prepared more.

A desperate look appeared within Ranma's eyes. "Th-- there has to be something you can do! I don't want to be a girl permanently!"

Looking into the older girl-- boy-- whatever's eyes, she couldn't help but see the shock, anger, and despair all mixing together as the seal covered her entire body and a dome sprang up from the circle on the floor and around Ranma. "I-- I'm sorry, b-- but there's nothing I can do. It can't be stopped at this point." She watched the redhead instantly vanish, and the last thing she heard from her was the phrase 'This is all your fault!'

Her disappearance caused Skuld to fall back onto her ass, and the girl couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed over the whole ordeal. She felt sorry for messing up like that while helping the mortal, but rationalized that it wouldn't be too hard for the redhead to get used to it. Besides, it could have been just the emotional aspect of being dead that caused her to get overly worked up about it.

'Still, that could have gone a lot better…'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With a long sigh, Kami-sama rested his hands upon His desk and contemplated the event that had just occurred. The only reason He could give for giving Ranma Saotome the chance of instant rebirth was that something within the back of His mind was telling Him that it must be done, and the Almighty could only assume that it was an act of fate itself. It's not like it was the only time it had ever happened, and He had learned countless millennia ago that when that feeling told Him something that must be done, it usually turned out for the better. After-all, fate and destiny did work in mysterious ways… even to the Great One.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Too bright.' Ranma thought as her vision was assaulted by light. All she knew after having vanished from the office of Enma was total darkness for what almost seemed like hours, and the inability to move properly was an even bigger issue entirely. In fact, it seemed as if she lacked all physical and ki ability that she used to have. She literally had no power, and so she had to wonder just how she was supposed to get back at Voldemort.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Malfoy." A voice spoke in what Ranma was able to identify as English. "You have given birth to a healthy set of twins; a boy and a girl." Ranma may not have been fluent in the language, but she still knew enough to understand what the speaker was saying. As such, the former Saotome was interested in learning that she -- if what was said earlier, to her horror, about being reborn as a girl was correct -- had a brother. She just wished that her eyes could focus a little better in the bright light so that she could see what was going on. All she knew was that she was being wrapped up in a blanket and handed off to someone else.

"They're so beautiful." Narcissa Malfoy breathed as she held the two babies close and closely observed their features. Her son had small tufts of blond hair similar to her own and her husbands. Whenever he managed to open his eyes, Narcissa could faintly see a pair of blue-gray eyes.

Her daughter's hair, on the other hand, was a vivid red that wasn't all that common amongst her own family, the Blacks. Of course, her blonde hair was almost unheard of within the Black family, but at least red hair was found in the family hundreds of years ago before it seemed to almost vanish without a trace once the Black name became more pronounced. 'Lina would probably be happy to see red hair again.' Narcissa thought as her mind drifted to the magical portrait of her ancestor.

When her daughter opened her eyes slightly, the Malfoy matriarch couldn't help but stare at the strange combination of eye color. The infant's eyes were split between blue and red with the upper half consisting of the former while the bottom half contained the latter. The colors mixed seamlessly in the middle and seemed almost unnatural. Narcissa was only able to break contact when the girl's eyes closed.

The blonde raised her head when she heard the door open, and she watched as her husband marched over and stood by her side. "Aren't they adorable, Lucius?" Narcissa asked as she gave the man a bright smile.

"That they are, dear." Lucius answered as he softly ran his fingers across his wife's cheek. He was overjoyed that he finally had a son, but it had also surprised him greatly to know that he also ended up with a daughter as well. "And I am certain that they will do us proud."

"Have you thought about any names that we could give our son?" Narcissa asked with a small tilt to her head. "Because I think I may have thought up the perfect name for our little girl."

Lucius gave an affirmative nod. "I was thinking that Draco would be a fine name for the son of the Malfoy family. Draco Malfoy, a name that everyone will come to respect." He promptly turned his attention towards their daughter. "And what name have you considered to be perfect for her?"

"Lina Inversia Malfoy, in honor of my ancestor, Lina Inverse." Looking back down at her sleeping daughter, Narcissa couldn't help but let a loving smile spring into existence. "I just can't help but feel that it'll be a name that will become well known and powerful."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's about time some red hair appeared along the family line again." A woman within a large portrait commented as she watched Narcissa sit next to a crib that held a pair of peacefully sleeping infants. The person of the portrait had the appearance of a girl of about 17 or 18 with vibrant red hair and large crimson eyes. Her outfit seemed old and flashy, as if it were out of a classic tale of swords and sorcery. "And you even named her after me."

"Maybe she'll even be able to take after you in magical ability?" Narcissa asked with a hint of hope. She could just imagine the thought of her being the mother of possibly the greatest witch the entire world would ever see. The very thought caused her eyes to shine in wonder.

"That would be nice." Lina answered as she stared off into the distance. "Sorcery has practically died since my time, and so to see it happen again would make me happy. All this wand waving stuff that replaced it stinks, and while there is the rare person who can do magic wandless, it is still way weaker than the stuff people of old could do." She just couldn't believe that the magic ability could diminish so much to a point where people needed to use wands to get the most out of their magic.

Narcissa nodded as she stood up from her chair. "From all the stories that you have told me, it definitely sounds like sorcery was an amazing art form." Turning towards her sleeping children, she gave both a warm smile. 'They're so precious.' She glanced back at the portrait of her ancestor. "Lina, could you watch over them for a moment. I need to check on something, but I'll be right back. If they end up waking up, please tell me."

"Alright" Lina answered with a nod and watched as the Malfoy matriarch left the room. "Hopefully her personality and behavior don't get taken over by the less desirable 'pure blood' beliefs."

"My, my, there really is a bit of a resemblance between the child and yourself, Lina." The portrait in question snapped her head to look in the direction of the window where the voice had come from.

"X-- Xellos? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked in shock as she observed the man leaning lazily against the window sill. His outfit consisted of a wrinkled beige tunic covered by a blackish-blue mantle that reached down to his knees. His black pants had bandages taped around the ankles so as to make sure that nothing got inside, and his footwear consisted of simple brown boots. A pair of purple-blue gloves covered his hands, and held in his right was a long wooden staff with a red gem resting on the end. His dark purple hair was cut in a shoulder-length bob style. Finally, his eyes were half closed and belayed a look of one that was happy beyond anything else.

The man known as Xellos took a step away from the window. "I'm touched that you remember me so fondly, Lina." Making his way over to the crib, he stared down at the tiny redhead. "I wonder if she could indeed be capable of learning sorcery. It'd be an interesting outcome to say the least."

"Don't you dare touch her, Xellos." Lina growled as she clenched her fist. "Just what are you doing here, and why are you interested in her?"

Xellos turned to her and raised a finger. "Now that, my dear Lina, is a secret." Before the woman of the portrait could yell a few choice words, he continued. "Even to me."

That caused her to halt. "Huh?" She asked intelligently. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's simple," the Mazouku answered as he walked over and sat on the window sill. "Lord Beastmaster has been getting strange information as of late, and it involves that child over there. I'm merely doing the things that she tells me to do, but who am I to complain? It allows me a chance to get out in the world and stretch my legs."

"Okay, but what's all this have to do with that infant?"

Xellos shrugged deeply. "I just know that when she turns two-years-old, I'm to collect her to better help her abilities."

"You can't do that! If you do, I'll--"

"Tell her parents?" Xellos asked as he opened his eyes and gave the portrait a deep look. "If you do that, I'll just take her on the here and now instead of the then and there. Nobody will be able to stop me, and it'd be so easy to do." His eyes closed again and he regained his happy façade. "Well," he said as he jumped to his feet and stepped up onto the ledge of the window, "I must be going, but I will come for her when she hits two-years-old." Without another word, the mazouku hopped out of the window and vanished.

"This can't be happening." Lina groaned as she slapped herself in the head. "Not even a week old and already has my knack for attracting Mazouku." Just how much did the infant take after her?

Speaking of the baby, Lina noticed that she was starting to stir, and it was only a moment later before her eyes opened to reveal a pair of interesting looking eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

I apologize for being so late in making updates and all. There's really no excuse for it other than me being so slow in doing so.


	2. The Start of Something Else

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to the people of Fukufics and Lawra for helping in pre-reading.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 2

It has been two years since Ranma had found herself reborn into her new life, and -- for the most part -- she didn't find it to be really all that bad. Regaining a male body was still something that she desired most, but realized that it could end up taking years before she was able to actually complete that goal. Still, being a 'normal' child again with no real worries or expectations from others was nice. She could take it easy and simply enjoy her time is a child.

One of the biggest downsides, however, was that her body was also that of a normal two-year-old. Ranma was correct when she initially discovered that she lacked every ounce of training and skill that she had built up in her previous life, and that meant that she would have to do a lot of work to get back to the state of her original body. A larger amount of her ki managed to make the transition than she initially thought, but using even the tiniest amount would leave her body tired. One time she was foolish enough to force out a soccer ball sized amount, but that backfired by causing her to feel incredibly weak and tired for a few days afterwards.

"Idiot never should have boasted." Ranma mumbled as she turned the page in the book she was reading. The story was a wizarding fairy tale that had to do with three brothers who cheated Death and obtained three 'gifts.' The first received a wand that would always win, the second a stone that would bring back a loved one, and the third received -- to which Ranma found the most interesting -- a cloak that allowed him to become invisible.

She had just gotten through with reading about the fate of the eldest brother. The two-year-old couldn't believe that he would just get drunk and start bragging about the wand. It was inevitable that some greedy fool would try and kill the poor sap to claim the wand for his own. 'He never had a chance.'

Reading was one of the few things she could do at the moment. Training was out of the question due to physical reasons. Parental reasons were also another issue, because trying to jump off things was a no-no. As such, Ranma took to browsing the small library that they owned in search of entertainment. That was when the redhead discovered several books of wizard fairy tales that seemed to call out to the child within her.

Upon being reborn, Ranma was shocked to learn that wizards and witches were part of an entirely secret 'magical world' that existed right under the nose of the non-magical populace of the world. At first, she was angry about the reality of the situation and came to the conclusion that these witches and wizards probably knew how to cure Jusenkyou curses all along, but preferred to keep secret instead of share it with those who were 'suffering from the curse.' It deflated, however, when she rationalized with herself that perhaps even they didn't know how to cure Jusenkyou curses.

"I knew it; the youngest picked the best item." Ranma said in triumph as she read about how the third brother managed to elude Death until he was of a ripe old age and voluntarily handed himself over. The two-year-old couldn't help but feel that a cloak of invisibility would have been perfect for getting out of situations that she would rather have not been in during her previous life.

"I still say that those fairy tales aren't as interesting as the things that went on during my time." A voice spoke up with a bit of a yawn.

Ranma lifted her head to look at the portrait of Lina Inverse. The woman within stared back with a bored expression and her arms crossed. "So what?" The two-year-old asked as she flipped a page. "I like 'em."

Portraits and photos were another shocker for Ranma at first. It was weird enough to learn that the pictures of the 'magical world' moved, but to learn that paintings and portraits were capable of retaining the memories, personality, intelligence, and sentience of the people they were based off of was even stranger. They could even move between paintings as a means of travel and a way of communicating with the residents of other portraits. This caused Ranma to wonder what it would be like to be a person in a portrait; to have your sentience but know that you were long dead.

The portrait of Lina Inverse was the first one she got to know, and was also the first thing she saw in the Malfoy manor upon waking up two years ago. She had also learned that the name her parents in this life had given her was in respect to the redhead in the painting.

"They're still boring." Lina said as she placed a hand to her chin. "Magic users of today have no sense of adventure. They don't go out in search of ways to better themselves, search for treasure, know what it's like to really fight for your life, and…"

"…and killing a bunch of bandits to steal their treasure while scaring away a bunch of dragons with just a look?" Ranma asked with a smirk as she remembered some of what the older redhead once said. She then quickly frowned in annoyance at her inability to fully pronounce certain words and letters due to her incredibly young body. (1)

The woman of the portrait crossed her arms and grumbled. "Smart-mouthed brat. If I weren't just a painting, I'd show you a thing or two." A two-year-old just shouldn't be as disrespectful as that. Then again, most two-year-olds also shouldn't be as advanced as the small redhead. It was that aspect that caused everyone who met her to assume that she was some kind of prodigy. Lina herself only understood that the child had a previous life and was reborn into this one with full memories. Other than that small tidbit of information, Lina couldn't get her to reveal anything else except for learning that the two-year-old's fear of cats somehow originated from that life as well.

Sticking her tongue out at the fuming portrait, Ranma closed the book she was reading before heading towards the bedroom door. She felt slightly hungry, and so she decided to go see if she could get hold of something. 'Wonder if we have some cake leftover from yesterday.' Ranma thought as she remembered her and Draco's birthday yesterday.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dobby sorry, Miss Lina, but he was given orders yesterday to throw away the rest of the cake that wasn't eaten." The small house elf in a pillow case apologized with a bow. "But if Miss Lina wants cake, then Dobby would be happy to make it for her." Without another word, Dobby turned and headed for the kitchen.

Ranma could only nod as she watched him vanish. It was easy to tell that the elf was willing to happily do things for her whenever she asked. It was a stark contrast to his demeanor whenever Narcissa or Lucius ordered him around and belittled him. One time when Ranma had attempted to sneak an article of clothing to Dobby, the house elf had outright refused on the grounds that he didn't want to cause her to get into deep trouble with her parents.

"Lina!" A voice shouted happily, and the next thing Ranma knew, she was flat on her face due to being tackled from behind by a small blond blur. "Wanna pway!" (2)

"Get offa me, Draco." Ranma answered as she pushed her twin brother off and got back to her feet. Turning her attention to the boy, she could see the hope within his eyes as he held tightly onto a teddy bear. "Sorry, but I--"

"Bear want pway!" Draco interrupted with a pout as he held the stuffed animal in front of his sister's face. "No pway make bear cry."

Staring long and hard at the large plush that stared right back at her, the redhead slowly found her resolve breaking away and giving way to the inner child personality that she had constantly tried to keep buried since rebirth. Once that resolve broke, Ranma slowly reached out a hand and gave the teddy bear a soft pat on the head as the expression upon her face portrayed that of childish delight.

"Aww, big brave bears don't cry. He's tough and strong!" Without another word, she grabbed the stuffed toy and placed it on her head. "Now he guards his territory in search of bad men!" Her hand pointed to the bear before sweeping around the room. During this, her left eye refused to stop twitching. While she liked the thought of living as a child again, Ranma did not enjoy the embarrassment of being a victim to swings of childishness. (3)

"Bear makes bad mens go 'way!" Draco laughed while clapping his hands as he watched his sister make several dramatic poses.

"Dobby has brought Miss Lina her cake. Does Mr. Draco wish to have some as well?" The house elf asked as he handed a plate with a slice of cake on it to Ranma. He also held out a smaller plate to the blond.

"Dobby, you're the best!" Ranma announced as she took a bite of the cake. Her compliment had caused Dobby's ears to perk up. A happy smile also spread across his lips before he made a bow before leaving.

As Ranma ate her cake, she glanced to the side and watched as Draco happily ate his own piece… in a slightly messy fashion. 'Mum's probably gonna have a fit when she sees how messy he's getting.'

Sure enough, when Narcissa entered the room, she took one look at Draco and instantly began fussing over the mess he was making. "I can't believe I let you out of my sight. Just look at you; cake all over your mouth and hands. If it wasn't for that weird man with purple hair your father is talking to--"

"Purple hair?" Ranma asked with a blink. She suddenly remembered Lina saying that the person who would be coming for her would have purple hair. 'I'll be leaving home already?' Her eyes lingered on Narcissa as the blonde woman continued to fuss over Draco's cake mess. She didn't know if she really wanted to pull another 'leave the mother' moment. While it annoyed her to no end that the woman loved dressing her up like a doll -- a glance was spared to the red and white lolita-style outfit she was stuck in, -- she still thought of said woman as her mother. The thought of causing a similar situation to the one with Nodoka was not a pretty one.

A disgruntled voice called out as two more people entered the room. The first was a pale man with pale blond hair. The second was an oddly dressed man with shoulder-length purple hair and a wooden staff. "I can not allow you to just come into my home and spirit away my daughter on the basis of the story you weave. I have no--"

"Mr. Malfoy," Purple hair interjected with an expression that seemed as if it knew all, "What I tell you is not a lie. Lord Voldemort is still out in the world, but one could say that he has been weakened and is in a state of 'half-death.' It is your daughter who has the potential to become the catalyst for with which to bring him back to full power. She shares a lot more with her ancestor than just hair color and name." Well, it wasn't a total lie. He gave a quick smile to the young redhead… which for some reason filled her with the desire to pound him flat. "I dare say that she may even be able to possess the very same magic capabilities if given the proper tutelage."

"How am I to know that what you say is the truth?" Lucius asked with a cold stare. He was already wary over the fact that the stranger knew the truth of his former allegiance to the Dark Lord, and of the questionable artifacts that he had hidden in secret. "You could very well just be some conniving miscreant hoping to destroy my family and bring harm to my daughter."

"Well, if that's your answer." Xellos said with a nonchalant shrug as he walked on by the blond man. "There are other ways to revive the Dark Lord. Of course," he raised a gloved finger, "those methods will take much longer, and imagine if he learns that there was a way to come back sooner but couldn't due to your refusal. I imagine that he would be… a little on the angry side."

Lucius couldn't help but gulp at the thought. "Well--"

"And don't you think that your children will suffer the most? The Dark Lord would most surly use your children in an attempt to break you." By this time, the Malfoy patriarch was sweating as he turned his attention onto his son and daughter. "But since you have made up your mind…"

"W-- Wait," Lucius said as he stood straight with his fists balled up at his side, "You can take Lina, but only if you promise that she will be alright."

"NO!" Narcissa shouted as she wrapped her arms tightly around a surprised Ranma. "I won't let you take my Lin-Lin away from me. You're probably lying about what you said!"

"Can't… breathe…" Ranma gasped as she attempted to pry her mother's arms away.

Lucius kneeled down in front of his wife and laid a finger under her chin. "Narcissa…" He began in a soft voice.

"No, Lucius, I won't!"

"Which would you prefer? Would you rather Lina leave to become capable in her magic so as to help revive the Dark Lord and most surly enter into his good graces, or do nothing and allow BOTH our children to suffer terribly for our inaction?"

Narcissa couldn't help but bite her lower lip as a war waged deep within her mind. Sparing a glance between her children, Lucius, Xellos, and back to her children, the blonde closed her eyes, let go of her daughter -- much to Ranma's relief, -- and stood up. It was obvious that she was attempting to rein in her emotions.

"Very well then, you may take my daughter so that she may become a great witch and complete her task." Narcissa's eyes flashed dangerously, and without warning, she snapped out her wand and held it close to Xellos's throat. "However, if anything is to happen to her, I will personally track you down and destroy you like the miserable little worm you are and feed your remains to the crups. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Off to the side, Ranma found her opinion of the woman rise.

Putting on a nervous façade, Xellos gulped and nodded. "As clear as crystal, ma'am." He found the amount of negative emotions the woman was giving off to be quite pleasing. "Now, if you could lower your wand, perhaps we can get to work on getting Lina ready to leave…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once her daughter -- along with Xellos -- had managed to disappear passed the Malfoy manor's gates and into the forest, Narcissa finally allowed herself to break down crying. It was something that she didn't want to do in front of her daughter or _that man._

"Narcissa," Lucius began as he went to place a comforting arm around his wife's shoulder, "Our daughter will be fine. She--"

He found his arm knocked aside as Narcissa turned around and glared at him with tearful eyes. "Why my Lin-Lin? Why does she have to leave now? She's only two-years-old!"

"If she can help revive the Dark Lor-- oof!" The pale blond man rubbed his chest where his wife had beaten her fist against. "Honey--" A fist impacted upon his chest a second time.

"I don't care about the Dark Lord! I want my little Lina, but you made me let that man take her away!" She continued to beat against his chest and repeat the word 'idiot' without stop.

"Now really, you're acting like a child-- ow!" Lucius turned and attempted to walk away, but found that his wife wouldn't stop following and kept beating her fists against his back. Off to the side, Draco -- not understanding what was going on -- sat on the sofa with his stuffed bear resting on his head and hoped that his sister would hurry back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As she walked alongside the purple-haired man, Ranma found that she was having a relatively hard time focusing as her thoughts kept drifting to the subject of her mother. She had to keep squashing down the insistent inner desire that wanted her to go back home and cling to her mother for safety and a refusal to leave. In fact, the redhead couldn't help but feel increasingly intimidated by the forest around her and the aspect that she was basically alone without her mother or father. Briefly, she wondered if she had felt almost the same thing at first in her previous life when Genma had taken 'him' on the training trip and away from Nodoka, and if 'he' had wished to still be with 'his' mother.

"S-- So," Ranma began as she placed her arms behind her head and tried to not let it get out that she was acting like the scared child that she was, "You're gonna teach me some stuff, right?"

"Hmm?" Xellos asked as he turned his attention to the child. She was giving off so many different intense negative emotions -- anxiety, fear, frustration, regret, sadness, and worry to name a few -- that caused the mazoku to almost feel as if he were on cloud nine. "Oh, that's right, I almost forgot."

Ranma forgot her worry and gave him an incredulous look. "Whaddaya mean ya forgot? That's the whole reason you dragged me away from home, ain't it?"

'She's quite advanced for a two-year-old human.' Xellos thought as he tapped his chin and stared at the child. Was it possible that being the reincarnation of Lina Inverse had something to do with it? "Tell me, Lina, have you ever felt a strange energy within your body?"

Much to his surprise, the redhead answered him with a quick nod. "Yeah, but I can't do anything with it. I've tried to push it out, but no luck." She couldn't understand what she was doing wrong. With ki, all she had to do was locate and push it out, and even though her tiny body wasn't very good at handling the stress of letting it go, she could still mold it.

"There's your problem then." Xellos said as he raised a finger. "Trying to outright force your magic out of your tiny body could lead to complications."

"Uh-huh, okay, but how do I do it?"

"You just need to _**WANT**_ to do it."

Ranma stared at the purple-haired demon in silence for a long moment. "What kinda answer is that? I've already _**WANTED**_ to do it."

Xellos reached over and gave the redhead a pat on the head. "And that shall be your first lesson to figure out. Think of it as a fun little secret to unlock, okay?" At the child's annoyed growl, Xellos's smile widened. He hadn't had this much amusement in years.

"You're a bloody awful excuse for a teacher." She accused with a pointed glare; her fear and nervousness from earlier completely gone. "You could at least tell me--"

"BWEE!"

"WHA?!" Ranma shouted out in childish terror as she fell backwards onto ass. She had stepped on something that made a loud and shrill 'bwee' noise. "Wh-- What was that? What did I step on? Who was-- Huh?" She halted in her tirade when she finally noticed the dazed black piglet lying in front of her. Upon seeing it, she did what any young child would do when faced with a small animal; she grabbed a hold of it and held it tightly within her arms.

"PIGGY!" Her eyes lingered upon the indent of her shoe that could be seen on top of its head. "AH! The poor piggy is hurt! I'm sorry I gave you such an owie Mr. Pig!" As she hugged and apologized to the small swine, she slowly began to notice that she was in a make-shift camp with a tent already set up. Getting to her feet and making her way around it, Ranma couldn't help but feel as if the scene seemed oddly familiar. The bandana around the piglet's neck was equally eerie.

She soon found herself coming upon a red umbrella and traveling pack that caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Reaching out, she gripped her hand tightly around the handle of the umbrella and attempted to pick it up. Try as she might, Ranma found herself incapable of being able to even move it at all. 'I don't believe it.' Turning around, she caught site of a kettle sitting upon a roaring camp fire.

Sitting the black piglet down by the fire, Ranma watched as it came to from its daze. Stepping over to the kettle, the redhead could see that it was hot enough to do the job, but purposely pouring the water over the pig would seem a little suspicious. As such, she'd have to go about it in a more 'accidental' way. Without hesitation, she placed her hands onto the kettle as if to pick it up, but she purposely placed them onto the wrong area.

"Hothothothot!!" She shouted as she gave the heated container a toss and watched as it spilled onto the now alert hog. As the change was happening, Ranma frantically blew on her hands in an effort to relieve herself of the burning pain. 'That really wasn't a smart thing to do.' A fist to the top of her head caused her to cry out in pain for a second time. Glancing up as she clutched large bump on her head, Ranma glared at the man who was hastily putting on a shirt. 'Doesn't look like he's changed much in anything except age…'

"Idiot, of course something sitting on a fire would be hot!" Standing up, the bandana clad man walked over to his pack and began rummaging through it. Finding whatever it was he was looking for, he returned and handed Ranma a small container. "You better put this on your hands. It's burn lotion, and it'll help the pain go away and prevent them from blistering."

Ranma couldn't help but blink at the act of generosity, but she chose not to say anything as she applied the medication to her hands. "Thanks mister!" She said as she put on a front. Maybe she could get a little information out of Ryoga on how things have been going in Nerima. "Were you really that adorable little piggy?" She gave off an expression of childish wonderment.

Taking a moment to observe the child in front of him, Ryoga figured that he must have been somewhere in Europe. This assumption was based on the fact that the girl appeared to be a westerner and -- as he had figured earlier -- spoke English with some kind of British accent. "I have a condition of sorts that causes me to turn into a pig with cold water." There was something about the girl's dual-colored eyes that unnerved him. He had scene heterochromatic eyes before in his travels, but never like her's.

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Ranma said as she made her eyes sparkle. "You make a really cute piggy, mister." The small embarrassed blush and chuckle from Ryoga caused the redhead to inwardly smirk at the fact that her acting skills weren't rusty in the slightest. "What are ya doing out here in the woods, mister?"

"Trying to find a way to help someone."

"Why?"

"Because I'm worried about her."

"Why?"

Ryoga clenched his hands in annoyance. "Because…"

"Because why?" Ranma was actually having fun bothering her former rival. However, the mention of 'her' had the two-year-old really wanting to know.

"Because she needs some kind of help?" This time, a large vein appeared.

"Why-- Owwww…" The reincarnated child whined with tears in her eyes as she rubbed a much larger bump on her head. "You're a meanie! I was only asking why you want to help."

'Good job, you just made a little girl cry.' Ryoga mentally berated as he scratched the back of his head. "D-- Don't cry." he raised his hands in front of him. "I didn't mean to hit you. I'll even tell you why I'm trying to help someone if you stop crying."

"R-- Really? You promise?" She asked with a sniffle.

"Yeah, I do." Ryoga couldn't help but blink as the girl almost instantly stopped crying, but he decided to ignore it. "You see, a friend of mine has been very sad since someone we knew died two years ago. She's been blaming herself for it and has refused to even leave her house no matter what anybody has tried to do. I've been trying to look for ways to help her, but it's no use. Why did that jerk have to go die and make Akane miserable!?"

'If only you knew that he was sitting right in front of you.' "I'm sure you'll think of something, mister."

"I hope so, but even her family has been forced to give up trying to get her out of her shell."

Ranma felt her hands clench in annoyance as she listened to him talk. After a moment, she couldn't take it. "Since when did the tomboy become so bloody stupid?"

"I don't know." Ryoga said as he tipped his head upward. "It's just that--" His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he lowered his head and stared directly into the child's eyes. "W-- When did-- How did you--"

"What's the matter, P-chan? You seem like you've seen a ghost or something."

"R-- Ranma?"

Off to the side, Xellos found his eyes widen in actual shock at the latest information presented before him. 'Did he just call her Ranma?' Of all the things he was expecting, Ranma Saotome reborn as the girl who was supposed to be a reincarnation of Lina Inverse that he was tasked with collecting from home was not one of them. 'This may be more interesting than I thought.' He was impressed that such a thing had managed to sneak up on him.

With a toothy smirk, Ranma gave her former rival a thumb up. "Long time no see, eh bacon boy?" The answer to her greeting was a swift and powerful kick to the side of her face that sent her sprawling several feet away. She attempted to push herself to her feet, but was lifted up high into the air by the collar of her outfit to come face to face with possibly the most furious look that she had ever seen Ryoga wear. "Ryoga…" Ranma tried to say with a swelled cheek.

"You stupid bastard." Ryoga growled as he gave the two-year-old a shake. "You only pretended to die, didn't you? You probably learned some kind of technique to make it seem as if you died, and then you used some of those damned age mushrooms to revert your age and run away! How could you do that to Akane?!" When the redhead's eyes started to tear, it only served to make him angrier. "It's too late to pull that child act. Why don't you fight me like a man, coward?" Ryoga reeled back his fist to deliver a punch, but found himself unable to deliver the blow due to being restrained.

"Oh dear, it seems that you are keen about punching a child's lights out." Xellos said as he forced the man's arm down.

Ryoga directed his glare to the purple-haired man. "Child? What the hell are you talking about? This bastard is anything but that."

"Hmm… are you certain of that accusation? I'd take a much closer look if I were you, because it would be understandable for any small child in such a position to feel outright terror. I don't think this moment is any different."

Giving off a dismissive snort, Ryoga turned back towards his captive and immediately halted. The redheaded toddler truly was staring at him with eyes full of fear as twin trails of tears fell from her eyes. "H-- Hey, cut the act, Ranma. I'm already onto you!" Why did he suddenly feel like despicable slime ball?

"I-- I didn't run away, Ryoga." Ranma let out with a sniff as she mentally cursed her child body. The pure anger and unadulterated hate within the man's eyes managed to just cause her emotions to flow. This was also compounded by the truth of just how weak and defenseless her body truly was. Ryoga could have utterly crushed her with just one finger and an arm tied behind his back. "I-- I really did die." In fact, if it weren't for Xellos stopping him…

After a moment of hesitation, Ryoga finally lowered the redhead back onto the ground. As soon as she was released, he watched as she made like a terrified child and scrambled to get behind the legs of the purple-haired man. Once there, she peeked around and stared at him with those same eyes. 'Is this really Ranma?' Ryoga wondered to himself. It all just seemed so… surreal. "Then why are you still alive? Wait… you're a ghost, and you possessed that child's body, didn't you? Why you--"

Ranma eeped and hid completely behind Xellos. "I didn't possess anybody! I was given a chance to be instantly reborn."

"Y-- You're serious?" The 19-year-old asked in disbelief. If Ranma were to be believed, then he had an actual real live example of rebirth. "But why are you a girl? Does the curse still carry over?" He did not like the idea of having to put up with becoming a piglet in the next life.

Peeking out from behind Xellos -- who happened to be very interested in the information, -- Ranma gave him a half-lidded stare. "The goddess messed up and sent me back as female instead of male."

Ryoga's initial reaction was to stare at her incredulously, but that soon gave way to roaring laughter as he fell backwards onto his ass. "Sh-- She messed up on y-- your rebirth? Ha-ha!"

"Hey!" Ranma yelled as she left her spot from behind the trickster priest and ran up to the downed man. "Stop laughing, pig-breath!" When he wouldn't stop, Ranma lashed out with a punch to the arm, but found that it had no effect in quelling the laughter. She tried several more punches before resorting to kicks. Finally, when that didn't work either, she pouted and clenched her fists and wished she had some cold water. 'Why isn't there any around when you need it?' She asked to herself as she closed her eyes.

A sudden splash and a bwee caused her to open her eyes to see a now drenched piglet attempting to climb out of a mound of clothing. With a blink, she turned to look at Xellos. "Did you do that?"

The mazoku merely gave her that all-knowing smile that she hated for some reason. "I'm just standing here enjoying the show, Lina… or should I be calling you Ranma?"

"Oh, yeah, you heard all that, didn't ya?" The two-year-old asked with a slight sweat. Deciding to shrug it off, she turned towards the struggling piglet and allowed an evil smirk to play across her childish features. Maybe she didn't know what happened, but why should she let this opportunity pass her by? "Oooooohhhh P-chaaaaannn…" She called in a sugary sweet voice as she began cracking her knuckles.

"Bwee wee…" Ryoga let out weakly as the two-year-old loomed over him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Feeling a lot better now that she had managed to deal out a little 'justice' over her earlier embarrassments, Ranma considered what Ryoga said in regards to Akane's actions since her death. She just couldn't shake the thought from her mind no matter how much she tried. "Grr… I can't believe she's become so stupid!" Ranma yelled as she started to walk away.

"Where might you be headed?" Xellos asked as he mimicked the redhead's pace.

"Nerima, Tokyo, Japan," She stated simply. "Gotta knock some sense into a tomboy."

"And how are you going to get there?"

Ranma stopped and stared up at him. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

"Well, we do seem to be quite far from the place you want to go. Wiltshire, England isn't exactly in walking distance to Japan." That information caused the two-year-old to deflate, give off a pout, and proceed to kick at the ground. "Of course, Japan _**WAS**_ our next destination already…"

Ranma immediately turned around and gave the mazoku a wide-eyed and hopeful look. "Really? Can you take me to the Tendo Dojo in Nerima? Pretty please?" She was doing an excellent rendition of the puppy-dog look.

Xellos grimaced and made a slight step backwards. The sheer strength of the positive emotions coming from the redhead, and the look she directed towards him, was enough to make him ill. "As long as you promise to never do that again."

"Alright" The two-year-old said with a look of victory. "So how are we going to…" She trailed off when she noticed her vision blurring for a moment before returning to normal. Blinking, Ranma noticed that the world seemed a little different, and the reason for that was because the Sun was in a different spot. "What happened? Wasn't it morning just a moment ago?"

"Look up." Xellos answered as he raised his hand and pointed to an area above the two-year-old.

"Huh?" Following the motion, her eyes landed on a wooden sign with Japanese kanji written upon it. After staring at it, her eyes widened considerably. "Oh wow…" A few seconds later, Ranma turned her attention back to her traveling companion and began fiddled around with her ponytail in embarrassment. "Um… what's it say?"

The mazoku couldn't suppress a sweat-drop. "Shouldn't you be able to read it since you were Japanese before dying?"

Her cheeks puffing up in annoyance, Ranma diverted her gaze away from the man. "I know what it says! I just-- I'm just a little rusty with Kanji." It was understandable since she hadn't written or read it in two years.

"What about Hiragana and Katakana?" Xellos asked as he unfurled a banner from… somewhere. Upon it were several sentences in both styles. "Surely you would be able to do better with something simpler, right?" Receiving no answer, Xellos poked his head over the large roll of paper to see that Ranma was sitting with her back facing him while a rather large veil of depression hovered around her. "It appears not."

'Cheh, should have kept practicing so I wouldn't forget.' The redhead lamented as she drew circles on the sidewalk. (4) Her musings were cut short when the gate to her left opened and allowed a woman speaking Japanese to appear. Briefly, Ranma wondered just how Xellos had gotten them to Japan so quickly, and she wondered if it was something she could learn. Next, she realized -- to her delight -- that she still understood the spoken form of her former language.

"Little girl," The woman began in Japanese, "Are you out here all alone?"

"No." Ranma said as she turned her head towards the spot where Xellos was standing. "I'm here with-- huh?" She stopped when she noticed that the man wasn't there anymore. Scrambling to her feet, Ranma frantically searched for any sign of her traveling companion. A feeling of desperation was forcing its way through her body as her mind went into overdrive and came to the realization that she had been abandoned in Japan as a two-year-old with no clue where she was and a limited ability to read Japanese. Faced with all of this, she did the only thing a young child in her situation could do: she cried.

"You poor dear." The woman softly said as she bent down in front of her and pulled out a tissue to wipe her eyes. "Come inside and we'll see if we can work on finding your parents." She was amazed to see the most interesting set of eyes that she had ever seen, but she was confused at the look of intense shock she received when the child saw her. Figuring it was just due to the situation, she grabbed the girl's tiny hand and slowly led her inside.

Unbeknownst to her, the two-year-old was shocked for a completely different reason than she thought.

'Mom…'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Doesn't seem like it's changed too much.' Ranma thought as she took in the surroundings as she sat at the low table. Placing her attention back onto Nodoka, the redhead couldn't help but stare in wonder. The woman didn't seem to be in too bad of health after two years, but it did seem as if she had the tell-tale signs of a wrinkle or two. There were so many different emotions flowing around within her at the moment that she didn't even know what to do.

When a small cup was placed down in front of her, Ranma turned to stare at another familiar woman. 'Kasumi…' She, too, didn't seem to change all that much. Looking down at the cup, the redhead noted that it was full of what appeared to be orange juice. Voicing her thanks, she began to drink the offered beverage.

"You don't know where your parents are?" Nodoka asked as she observed the very young child who couldn't be any older than two. Based on the girl's looks, the woman would have to say that she was a westerner, or perhaps she was the daughter of foreigners. Her eyes also lingered upon the outfit being worn by their guest. 'She's so adorable in it. Her mother must have a love for lolita fashion.'

"No," Ranma lied, "I don't know where they are."

'So she's English.' Nodoka figured upon hearing the strong accent within the girl's Japanese. She also seemed incredibly smart and well-spoken for a toddler as well. "Well then, what's your name?"

The two-year-old opened her mouth to say, but stopped. She wanted to just shout out that she was Ranma, but was feeling too nervous and wondered what their reactions would be. She finally decided to use her current name. "Lina," She said softly as she unconsciously fiddled with her ponytail.

Kasumi could tell that the girl seemed to be nervous about being asked questions, so she decided to see if she could get her to ease up a little. "Lina-chan, would you like some ice cream?" Upon receiving a small nod from the toddler, the eldest Tendo daughter got up from her spot at the low table and made her way towards the kitchen. She came back a moment later with a bowl and handed it to the redhead.

As she devoured the ice cream, Ranma was starting to feel slightly better. She had to wonder where Xellos had went, and why he just suddenly up and left without saying a word at all. If her mother -- Narcissa -- ever learned of the incident, she'd probably gut him without a thought. Diverting her attention to Nodoka, Ranma wondered what the woman would think if she learned the truth. Would she try and get her to commit seppuku because she wasn't manly at all? Of course, it's not like she'd go through with it. After-all, the promise was for a powerful man called Ranma Saotome, and not some weak and defenseless two-year-old girl named Lina Inversia Malfoy.

"Ah, Akane." Kasumi's use of the name caused Ranma's head to snap up. Stepping into the family room was the youngest Tendo, and the redhead couldn't help but stare in absolute shock and disbelief.

'There's no way that can be her.' Ranma thought with a shake of her head.

Unlike Ryoga, Kasumi, or Nodoka, Akane had obviously changed the most in the two-year time span… for the worst. The former fiancée's hair was a complete mess and had grown down past her back, and her bangs were sloppily pushed back so as to allow her eyes to be visible. Said eyes were baggy and dull as if she had hardly gotten any sleep. Her skin was pale from lack of sunlight, and her clothing was obviously tossed on haphazardly without any ounce of care. All in all, she looked like some kind of creepy hermit than the girl that Ranma knew.

"Akane-chan," Nodoka began as she motioned towards Ranma when the girl sat down, "This is a guest of ours. Her name is Lina-chan."

When Akane turned her attention towards the redhead, Ranma couldn't help but flinch slightly at the rather creepy appearance. If the older girl noticed, then she didn't seem to care.

"Hello" With that, she pulled out a remote, turned on the television, and began to watch without paying attention to anything else. At least she would have if it weren't for Kasumi swiping the remote. "Hey!"

She was met by a glare. "Akane, you should be more polite to our guest. She's lost and is in need of some help."

"Never should have run far from home then." Seeing that the glare from her eldest sister only increased, she returned her own before getting to her feet and walking out of the room despite the two older women attempting to stop her.

Kasumi sighed before noticing the expression on Ranma's face. "I'm sorry you had to see my sister like that. She's distanced herself off from everyone and everything ever since someone she cared about passed away two years ago." Her expression turned into a frown. She wished her father and Nabiki would try a little harder to help.

"Perhaps it's time to try and get some professional help, Kasumi-chan." Nodoka said with a sympathetic look.

The two women were broken out of their conversation by the sound of a pair of small fists pounding on the table. Looking down at the redheaded child, they watched as she jumped to her feet with an odd look in her eyes. "Lina-chan?"

Ranma cupped her hands to her mouth and proceeded to give a loud yell. "Hey tomboy," She shouted, "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more uncute, you go and do it! Now you're truly a match for any gorilla!"

Silence reined for what seemed like an excruciatingly long moment, but it came to an abrupt end with the sound of feet running along the floor boards. It wasn't long before Akane skid back into view stared as if she had seen a ghost. In fact, both Nodoka and Kasumi were giving wide-eyed stares to the two-year-old.

"W-- What did you say to me just now?" The youngest Tendo had hoped that she wasn't starting to hear voices.

"A tomboy. What else would ya be? You're also built more like a stick more than a brick these days."

"R-- Ranma?" Akane asked in disbelief. "How-- Why-- You can't--"

Kasumi placed a hand to her mouth. "You must be a ghost, and you've possessed Lina-chan--"

The two-year-old frantically waved her hands in an attempt to ward off the 'possession' talk. "No way! I was reborn two years ago." Before the next question could be asked, she beat them to the punch. "The goddess in charge messed up and sent me back as a girl instead of a boy."

The three older women stared at her for a long moment. It was Nodoka who broke the silence by wrapping her arms tightly around the girl and crying. "My baby's back from the dead!"

Akane, who had fallen to her knees in shock just moments ago, found herself unable to stop a twin trail of tears that began leaking from her eyes. It just seemed like some weird dream, but she hoped that it wasn't. "I-- I--" She had trouble getting out what she wanted to say. "I d-- didn't mean f-- for you to die." It was something she said to herself many times, but never did she imagine that she'd actually be able to say it.

"Jeez Akane, don't be stupid." Ranma said as she attempted to get out of Nodoka's bone crushing hug. "It wasn't your fault I died… even if your shout did distract me enough for Voldemort to kill me." She blinked for a moment as she scratched her chin. "Ya know, maybe it was a little bit of your fault in a way, but-- Owwww!" She found herself sporting a large bump on the head.

"First you try and make me feel better, but then you make me feel even worse! You're still a jerk."

"You didn't need to be so mean and hit me that hard!" The two-year-old shouted as she wiped her eyes and hid slightly behind Nodoka. "That hurt…"

Akane blinked at the action. "You really are just a two-year-old…" It was made even more obvious when the child blew a raspberry at her and ducked behind her former mother. "Oh, real mature, Ranma."

"That coming from someone who held herself up in her room and acted like an idiot for two years?"

Before Akane could make a comeback, Kasumi decided to ask a new question. "Ranma-chan," It felt alien to actually say that name again, "What about your new parents? Don't you think they're worried about where you are?"

"Yeah, but they know I'm gone. They don't know I left England, but--"

"England?!" All three women asked in shock, but less so for Nodoka since she had deduced at least some of Ranma's origin. "But how did you get here?"

The child's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. "Some stupid jerk who is supposed to train me brought me over. I think he was able to teleport or something like that, but then he just left me by myself in front of the dojo when I wasn't looking!" She stomped her foot in anger.

"How could they let him take you away? What kind of parent does that?" Nodoka asked with a hand to her cheek. This caused three pairs of eyes to stare at her. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"You're… not exactly the best one to point that out, Auntie." Kasumi answered with a slight cough into her fist. "You DID allow your husband to take Ranma away when he was really young."

The older woman allowed a blush to appear upon her cheeks. "Oh, you're right, how silly of me to forget." She spared Ranma an apologetic look. "My question still stands, though. How could they let him take you away?"

Ranma decided to give them a condensed and partially true version. "I'm not sure, but I know mom and dad didn't want me to go, and dad even tried getting the jerk to leave. They only decided to let him take me after a bunch of talking. I don't know what they were saying because my brother was bugging me" A large smile appeared on her lips. "Mom was awesome, though. She threatened to hunt him down if he harmed even one hair on my head."

"You must love your new parents then." Nodoka responded with a small smile. Why couldn't she have said something like that to Genma long ago instead of going along with the seppuku contract?

"They're kinda stuck up and snobby, but they aren't all that bad." She definitely didn't want to make mention of how they hated non-magical people and used to be in cahoots with the man who killed her. "A little too overprotective at times, though."

"Ranma-chan, do you think you could stay for a while?" Nodoka asked with an obvious hope in her eyes. She knew that the redhead had a new family she belonged to, but she still wanted to be able to spend a little time with her child that had miraculously come back from the grave.

"Well, I--"

"That won't be possible at this time." A familiar voice that caused Ranma to unconsciously clench her fists interrupted. "You see, we must be getting a move on."

The group quickly turned to see Xellos sitting cross-legged atop the TV with a cup of tea in his hand. While the three older women attempted to get their bearings straight and figure out how he got there, the tiny redhead hopped onto the table and pointed an angry finger in his direction.

"Where the hell were you?!" She shouted. "How could you just up and vanish like that and leave me with no clue of where I was?"

The mazoku gave her a bright smile. "But you ended up where you wanted to be, didn't you?" That caused the child to go silent. "However, like I said, it's time that we end this lovely reunion so that we can get to where we're supposed to be."

"Hey, why do you have to leave now?" Akane asked with a glare. Just when Ranma returned from beyond the grave, he… she had to leave again? That wasn't fair at all, and she didn't want her to leave yet again. "At least let him stay for a little longer."

"Schedules to abide by and all that, I'm afraid." Xellos replied as he hopped off the TV. "Besides, you know she's alive, so there's always the chance of seeing her again." He continued to smile as he held out a hand for the two-year-old in question.

Ranma's response was to cross her arms and stick her tongue out. "I don't wanna!" Darkness became her vision as Xellos's staff was whapped against her head with enough force to knock her out. At which point the mazoku picked her up and held her within the crook of his arms.

"Hey! What did you do that for?!" Akane shouted angrily as she leapt to her feet.

"How could you do that to a two-year-old?" Kasumi asked with a glare.

"Put him down this instant!" Nodoka demanded with a look that could melt steel.

"Now, now, ladies, she's in capable hands, and I'm sure you'll see her again." With a wave, Xellos vanished with Ranma and left three simmering women behind who vowed that if they ever saw the purple haired priest again, then his life would become increasingly miserable.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Guuuhhh," Ranma moaned as she opened her eyes and closed them as she was met by the bright rays of the Sun filtering through the canopy of trees. For some reason, it felt as if her head was ready to split open. As she sat up, she quickly remembered just why that was. 'I really _**REALLY**_ hate that guy.' Opening her eyes again, she noted that she was apparently in a small forest of some kind. There was also one more noticeable thing to her predicament: She was alone again with Xellos nowhere to be scene.

"Oh c'mon, is this some kind of sick joke of yours?" The two-year-old shouted as she got to her feet. "I know you're out there somewhere, so come out!" After almost five minutes without any reply, Ranma could feel her insides panicking, and she had to fight down the childish urges that were trying to surface. "He's probably out there watching and waiting for me to panic. It's just a forest, don't-- huh, what's that?"

Taped to a tree that was across from her were a note and an envelope. Making her way over and pulling off the note first, she began to read.

'_A very splendid morning to you, Ranma. I'm sure that you had a nice sleep through the night after such an eventful day yesterday.'_

Ranma could feel her teeth grinding in anger.

'_You no doubt notice that I am not there, and that you are alone. For that, there's a very good reason, but you don't need to know that.'_

"Ass…"

'_You no doubt feel the desire to rip this note up and curse my name, but that is to be expected. The next step is entirely on your own. All you have to do is follow the path north until you come to a lovely house by a lake. You must then give the note that accompanies this letter to a woman named Washu.'_

Ranma stared at the envelope that had the words 'To Washu' on it. She wondered if just opening it to read would be a much better idea.

'_The letter is in Japanese with and emphasis on Kanji, so I doubt you would be able to read it.'_

'Damn it…'

'_Well, that's the end of this letter. Good luck on the rest of your journey, and hopefully you won't get lost on the way.'_ A small chibi Xellos was at the bottom giving a peace sign.

With a growl, Ranma ripped up the letter into several tiny pieces and tossed them to the ground. Proceeding to grab the sealed envelope, the redhead stared down at it and contemplated on whether or not she could just tear it up and find her way to the nearest town. Why should she have to follow what that damnable man told her to do after leaving her by herself _**AGAIN**_?

A loud rustling from within the bushes caused her to eep and cling to the tree next to her. 'M-- Maybe I should follow what the note said.' Turning her head upward, she found her answer via the direction that the sunlight was trickling down through the canopy. 'This shouldn't be too hard.' As she was about to hop back down to the ground, she found a creature appear within her vision.

It appeared to be some kind of odd monkey crossed with a frog and sporting a smooth, mottled green skin. Upon its head were several horns, and its long arms ended in webbed hands that managed to safely grip onto the bark of the tree. The odd creature just sat there and stared straight into the redhead's eyes.

"Um…" Ranma attempted to get out as she stared at the weird creature. Ever since being reborn, she would frequently run into different kinds of odd magical creatures that she had never seen before. "H-- Hi?" She greeted nervously.

The thing gave her a wide smile… which was full of razor sharp teeth.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Ranma screamed as she took off away from the tree. "Gottahurrytothehousegottahurrytothehouse!" She shouted as she heard several loud sounds within the forest.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Panting and wheezing as if she was going to collapse due to exhaustion, Ranma found herself at the door to a nicely sized house. Since it was right next to a large lake, she assumed that it was her destination. After catching her breath, she raised herself up onto her tip-toes and attempted to press the doorbell. She was annoyed to find out that she couldn't quite reach it, and so she had to hop a few times until she was able to hit it. 'Damn two-year-old body…'

It didn't take too long before the door was opened to reveal a young girl of about eight with long light blue hair that was tied up in twin ponytails. Her eyes were bright pink, and on her forehead was a small odd triangular marking. She gave off an air of kindness about her.

"Hello," The girl greeted with a smile, "Can I help you?" She found herself staring at the two-year-old redhead in interest. The girl seemed so young, and yet she appeared to be by herself. 'Maybe she's lost.'

"Um…" Ranma trailed off as she nervously toyed around with her ponytail. "I-- Is someone named," She stared down at the name of the envelope, "Washu here? I was supposed to give her this letter."

Sasami was surprised that the child was there for Washu, but continued to give the nervous girl a smile. "She's here, but she might be a little busy." She reached out and grabbed the two-year-old by the hand. "Come on in and I'll tell her you're here to see her, okay?"

Ranma couldn't help but nod as she allowed the older girl to lead her inside. If this girl was living there, then maybe this Washu person wouldn't be so bad.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

( 1 ) Due to her age, Ranma has trouble pronouncing her R's, along with L's, Th's, and certain words. However, for convenience to the reader so that it doesn't grate on the nerves, she only appears to be speaking normally.

( 2 ) Draco, however, has no such speech filter.

(3) While Ranma still has her previous memories, she has the body and mentality of a two-year-old child, and so she is prone to acting incredibly childish.

(4) Ranma is able to remember some Hiragana and Katakana, but two years without writing it or reading it has taken its toll. Kanji, on the other hand, is something she completely forgot.

Ranma's current actions are understandable. She may have her memories, but she is still in the body of a young child, and so she is prone to child-like emotions and issues that she has no real control over. She still tries to act like an older person, but her body says otherwise.


	3. Meetings Aren't Always Easy

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to the people of Fukufics and Lawra for pre-reading and helping.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 3

As Sasami brought the newest guest into the house, she couldn't help but feel an ever increasing desire to latch onto the tiny redhead and squeal about how adorable she was. She knew better than that, though, and just settled for sending small glances to the smaller girl as she followed closely while holding tightly onto her hand. The nervous looks that were directed towards different parts of the house caused Sasami to almost giggle.

While observing the child, Sasami figured that she couldn't be any older than at least two-years-old, and so it was a question as to why she was by herself. It was possible that she could have been traveling for a while due to her disheveled appearance and dirt that could be seen on her outfit. The girl was also breathing as if she had run non-stop for a long distance, and both her stockings and shoes - the latter having been removed - were wet and muddy.

What really stuck out in the young princess's mind was that the girl had asked for Washu and was carrying a letter addressed to the genius. For whatever reason, the person who sent the letter had chosen a two-year-old to deliver it, but for what reason? As Sasami stole another glance at the child, she couldn't help but stare at the vibrant red hair that was made up in a ponytail. Was it possible that she could be a relation of some sort to Washu? It could be possible.

Once the tiny girl climbed up onto the sofa in the living room, Sasami gave her another bright smile. "What's your name? I'm Sasami."

"Um," The redhead answered in a small voice. What name should she say? Saying and being called Ranma back at the Tendo Dojo was like a breath of fresh air after only being known as 'Lina' for two years. Constantly being called _**THAT**_ made her feel as if she was losing herself… as if she were a completely different person than who she thought she was. Being called and known as Ranma again would allow her to feel as if she weren't lost in someone else's body anymore. She wanted more of that. "Lina- Ranma- no wait… yeah, Ranma." She couldn't believe that she almost messed up there. Two years of being called and answering to Lina caused her to basically become used to it.

"Y- Your house is nice." She added in an effort to distract from her slip-up. The house did look nice though, and she wondered if the people who lived there were well off or something. The living room was huge, and there were large glass windows that allowed one to see the wooden deck outside. There was also a platform in the corner of the room that had a low table sitting neatly upon it, and Ranma couldn't help but guess that the kitchen was on the other side of the wall.

Sasami noticed the odd slip-up and hesitation as the girl said her name, but figured that the issue was because she was so young and nervous about her surroundings. "Okay Ranma-chan," The older girl began, "I'll go find Washu-chan and tell her that you want to see her, so could you sit there until I get back?" At the child's nod, the young princess turned and made her way to Washu's lab.

As Ranma watched her, she couldn't help but wonder why the older girl was heading for what she thought was the broom closet, and she was even more confused when she had stepped inside and closed the door. 'Maybe there are stairs that lead to a lower level room.' She thought as she twiddled her fingers. 'Yeah, that's it, it leads to another room!' Glad that she had managed to solve that mystery, Ranma sat back and began happily humming a tune.

Little did she know, however, that her humming was loud enough to reach the ears of a cyan-haired woman attempting to catch some sleep up in the rafters. The woman's ears twitched at the tune as she rolled onto her side. As it continued, her face slowly scrunched up into a scowl, and it wasn't long before her eyes snapped open to portray a look of annoyance at being woken from her nap.

'Alright, who the hell just woke me with that awful…?' Peering over the railing, Ryoko caught sight of a small red-headed girl sitting upon the sofa and giving off the most dreadful tone deaf humming that she had ever heard. 'Don't know who the midget is, but she needs to be silenced.' The former space pirate thought with a glare. "Hey brat, knock off that ear-splitting racket before I come down and do it for you!"

With an eep and a jump, Ranma rapidly swung her head around in an effort to figure out where the enraged scream came from. Not seeing anybody, she hopped off of the sofa and got on her hands and knees to look under it.

"Hey, twerp, up here!"

Taking offense at the twerp comment, but still obeying the command, the two-year-old glanced up to see a golden-eyed woman with swept back spiky cyan-colored hair leaning over a rafter on the ceiling and giving her an annoyed glare. "What're ya doing up there?" She couldn't help but notice that the woman's ears were slightly longer than normal.

"I was _**TRYING**_ to sleep, but that noise of yours woke me up."

"It wasn't noise! I was humming." Ranma bit back as she placed her hands to her hips and gave a childish glare. "Maybe you just can't understand greatness when you hear it."

"Humming? Is that what you call it? I've heard better sounds coming from a drowning cat."

Ranma stuck her tongue out. "Oh shut up, ya tone-deaf old hag!"

A vein appeared as Ryoko started growling. "Old… hag?" She asked before immediately teleporting from her spot on the ceiling to the area right in front of the two-year-old. "Just _**WHO**_ are you calling an old hag?" Attempting to keep her temper in check at least a little since the girl was just a child, Ryoko gave her a rather rough pat on the head while forcing a smile. "Aren't you an adorable little twerp?" The statement was made through clenched teeth.

Ranma was shocked to know that the older woman could teleport, but her curiosity turned into annoyance as she felt the hand roughly slap the top of her head. Any childish fear she would have felt in the situation of confronting the weird and creepy woman was tossed aside in favor of annoyance. "I'm calling _**YOU**_ an old hag, thunder thighs. How about ya clear the gunk outta your ears so you can hear better?"

Ryoko's hand clenched in anger, and without another thought, she called forth her energy sword, but managed enough common sense to will it away. Still, she figured that it was probably time to teach the kid some manners. "Run," The former space pirate stated with a forced smile. "Run as fast as you can."

Gulping nervously as fear started to overcome her being, the two-year-old redhead wondered if she had gone a little too far. The woman before her almost seemed as scary as a demon now that she was angered, and she didn't want to know what this demon woman was capable of. "Um- I didn't- I mean-"

"Little girl, I told you to run." Strange orbs of energy started to appear around the room, and they seemed to be at the cyan-haired woman's command. "Unless you want to be hit, that is." One of the balls flew past the two-year-old's head.

Crying out in fear and terror, Ranma fled from the room and towards the front door with Ryoko right behind. Having no time to grab her shoes, she quickly slammed open the door and rushed outside. As soon as she was several meters away from the house, she turned around in hope that her pursuer wouldn't come outside. When she didn't see her, Ranma gave off a sigh of relief.

"Stopped running already?" A voice asked from behind causing the redhead to freeze. Slowly turning her head, the two-year-old caught site of the current cause of her terror. The woman was holding her hands behind her back in an innocent manner, and she was leaning forward slightly with a wide smile upon her face. "Well that's no fun at all, because I think we should play a little more."

"N- No thank you." Ranma said nervously as she waved her hands in front of her. "I don't- WHA!" She found herself being pulled into the woman's arms as Ryoko - much to her shock - flew up into the air and hovered several meters above the ground. "Y- You can fly?" The two-year-old asked in slight awe.

"It's neat, isn't it?" Ryoko proceeded to point downward. "Just look how high we are. I bet that if you were to fall from this height, you wouldn't be doing so well." She almost giggled in amusement when the redhead latched tightly onto her arm in fright. "Don't you just love it, kid?"

"Y- Yeah, it's great." The young child lied as she held on tightly. She knew she wouldn't be able to survive a fall from this height in her current state, and just thinking about it frightened her even more. "Can you get us back down on the ground again? Pretty please?"

"Nah, kid, I'm going to take you for the ride of your life!" The cyan-haired woman announced as she flew quickly around the house and surrounding area. She made several dips close to the ground that caused her passenger to scream and close her eyes. She was only having some harmless fun in scaring her, and she had no intention of harm.

'I think she's learned her lesson.' Ryoko thought as she gave the frightened girl a look. She figured that it was about time to put her back down on the ground, but felt that it would be good to have one last moment of amusement. Lowering herself to tree-top level, Ryoko extended her arms and held out the child as she skimmed the trees. "You know, I wonder if I can drop you into any soft bushes. I'm sure the tops of the trees will provide some cushion."

As she stared in trepidation, Ranma could feel the tears on her cheeks as she thought about the fall. "Y- You wouldn't."

Her captor smirked. "Oh? How do you know?" She loosened her grip just enough to cause the child to slide down until she was being held by her armpits. "Uh oh, I think I'm starting to lose my grip! Here's hoping you land on something soft." Feeling as if she had enough fun, Ryoko was going to pull the girl back into the safety of her arms, but quickly noticed a faint glow surrounding her tiny and trembling form. "Hey, you okay there?"

"N- No, don't wanna fall. Too high- it'll hurt- maybe die." The glow quickly grew in intensity and size as her terror became worse. "Scary creatures- Getting lost- no… no… NO!" On her final 'no', Ranma somehow managed to release a blast of magic that sent Ryoko tumbling about ten meters back. This action also had the effect of releasing Ranma from her grip, and when the redhead noticed her predicament, the only thing she could do was close her eyes and hope to survive as she plunged down into the forest.

Ryoko's eyes widened when she saw the two-year-old fall and disappear into the trees. "Shit!" Taking off towards the spot that she believed the child fell to, the former space pirate hoped that she wasn't too seriously hurt. She may have not known who the girl was, but she knew that she must have been a guest, and if the girl were to die because of her… "Shitshitshitshitshit!"

Quickly coming upon the spot where the two-year-old had landed, Ryoko was surprised to see her struggling to get to her feet. From what she could see, the girl may have had a broken arm and leg, and it wasn't a good sign that there was blood either. "Hey, I didn't mean to drop you. I was just joking." She needed to get the girl to Washu… as much as she hated the idea of just how much trouble she'd probably get in. "Come here." She said as she reached out for the injured child.

"S- Stay back! D- Don't come near me." Ranma managed to get out before wincing. It was possible that she may have had a broken rib or two. It also didn't help that her vision was blurring and portrayed Ryoko as some kind of terrifying demon. "P- Please don't hurt me." Another glow sprung up around the two-year-old, but this time it seemed much larger.

'This can't be good.' Ryoko thought as she watched the glow grow larger by the moment, and the half-blue/half-red eyes that the girl possessed quickly turned pure crimson. They didn't stop at that, however, and slowly started to turn gold. 'What's going on?'

"STAY AWAY!" The two-year-old shouted as her body unleashed an incredibly powerful explosion.

The former space pirate had managed to avoid it by teleporting away and appearing back at the house. She was just in time to meet the other occupants of the house who were coming out to figure out what the cause of the massive explosion was.

"Ryoko!" Ayeka screeched as she marched up to the woman. "What did you just do?"

Sasami glanced around worriedly. "What happened to Ranma-chan? I hope she wasn't near that." She should have had the girl go with her to meet with Washu.

"Is Ranma a tiny redhead kid with weird red and blue eyes?" Ryoko asked with a nervous sweat. "Cause that little twerp just blew away part of the forest."

Before anyone could say anything else, Washu had vanished from the area, only to return a few moments later with a young child held in her arms. All the color drained from Ryoko's face when she caught sight of what happened to the redhead. Her body seemed to be deathly pale, and even her hair, for some unknown reason, was stark white. The clothing that she had previously been wearing was almost completely shredded with only a few pieces hanging on, and one could easily see the multitude of cuts and bruises across her body. Blood covered her tiny form from head to toe, and it even seemed to be trickling out of her mouth.

"Wash-" Tenchi didn't get to finish before the crab-haired scientist rushed towards her lab. Sharing a look, everyone else decided to follow.

Everyone except for Ryoko, that is. The cyan-haired ex-pirate continued to stand there in total shock. The sight of what happened to that girl was just too much for her, and she felt chiefly responsible for what happened. If she hadn't lost her temper and decided to mess around like she did, then this wouldn't have happened. Hopefully Washu would be able to save the kid, but if not, then she didn't know how she could live with the guilt of that.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A sigh of relief escaped Washu's lips as the diminutive scientist checked over the readings of her tiny patient. 'Heart rate finally stabilized.' She had to wipe the sweat off of her brow at that. When she had brought her in, the girl was in even worse condition than she had thought, and even her heart had stopped completely. This was compounded by the multitude of broken bones that managed to puncture a few organs, internal bleeding, a great amount of blood lost, and intense strain on her body both physically and spiritually along with a hint of severe mental exhaustion. If she had been even a second too late in getting the girl to the lab, then they would have lost her.

Lifting her head and staring into the healing tank, Washu took a moment to observe what had to be the luckiest two-year-old in the world. By all accounts, she should have died instantly. Hell, any other child in that situation would have. To survive meant that there was something special about her, and the scientist couldn't help but feel her curiosity grow even more. The girl was an incredible mystery, and Washu found that solving that mystery would be something to look forward to.

Those thoughts brought her back to the letter that the girl had brought with her. When Sasami had told her that there was a child looking for her, she was initially perplexed as to just who the girl could be and why she was there. Upon exiting her lab with Sasami, Washu saw the distressed look on the young princess who started to search for the missing child. That was when she had caught sight of a letter that was addressed to her.

She didn't know who this 'Xellos' person was and how he knew about her, nor did she know why he wanted her to teach the child, but she had to admit that the letter had managed to pique her interest. That was before the girl unleashed that interesting display of power. The area in the forest that she was found in was now nothing more than a lifeless crater, and so the power must have been immense.

From her readings on the girl, Washu was amazed to see that she had such a high level of ki for an Earth toddler. The mystery child also possessed a mana capacity that seemed much greater than usual. Washu knew that the world she was currently on contained a 'secret world' of magic, and she had previously run a few scan probes in an effort to monitor and understand what they were capable of. Needless-to-say, the diminutive scientist wasn't all that impressed and found most of them to be mediocre at best and incredibly boring. Even normal Earthlings were more interesting to observe.

Here though, was a two-year-old with a huge potential for greater things, if put through the right training. That alone nearly sent her into a fit of maniacal giggling at the prospect of 'Guinea pig.'

"Hmm…" Washu hummed as she observed the unconscious child floating in the healing tank with various wires, sensors, and tubs strapped to her. Perhaps she could make it a little more interesting for the girl in a way to… help her adapt to the chaotic and 'dangerous' atmosphere of the house. It would also allow for some good research and observation material.

Deciding to go for it, the diminutive genius made her way over to the computer control panel connected to the healing tank and quickly started to type away. The commands that she gave the computer were for injecting and integrating Masu DNA into the redhead's body. Along with this, she included the necessary components that would allow the girl to be able to perform the abilities that both she and Ryoko could perform. After-all, she did wish that she could have observed her daughter growing up and into her abilities, so why shouldn't she be able to witness and observe the same thing with a human given those abilities in the early stages? She was curious as to how the child would grow and mature. Of course, it would also serve as to rid the child of her already fragile human structure, because if this was the kind of potential that the girl possessed, and if she performed anymore stunts like earlier, then she'd likely burn herself out before she could even reach her third birthday. That was something she definitely did not want to see happen to a child if she could help it.

The Masu DNA carried with it a sentience and the ability to evolve if given the right conditions. If it sensed that its host was in certain danger, then the DNA would attempt to work and correct the issue. As such, her body would be immune to most - if not all - illnesses. Of course, since the girl wasn't exactly human anymore, she wouldn't have to worry about the human illnesses of Earth.

Poisons and other harmful toxins were also things that she wouldn't need to worry about. Any harmful substances that attempt to attack and damage the body would be dealt with quickly and effortlessly. It was possible, however, that she could end up with a case of temporary indigestion if the toxin was potent enough. Temporary weakness was also a possibility while the immune system went to work on neutralizing the poison.

After she finished with her tweaking of the girl's body, Washu's thoughts returned to the writing in the letter. 'Teach her, huh?' The idea was an interesting one, and it has been a very long time since she felt the joy and amusement in teaching students. Maybe this girl will even become as great as her. That thought caused an amused cackle to escape.

"Washu…" A small voice brought her out of her thoughts and caused her to turn around to see Ryoko. Her daughter had the appearance of a child who knew that they had caused something terrible to happen. From their connection, Washu could tell that Ryoko was feeling an incredible amount of guilt, and was afraid of the consequences that her actions would bring upon her. If this had been before she fused with Zero, her emotions wouldn't have been so severe. "Is she-"

"She's going to be perfectly fine." The diminutive genius answered with a small smile. "There won't be any lasting negative side effects from what happened. She's still healing, and it'll probably take the rest of the day until she's ready to wake."

A huge weight felt as if it was lifted from the former space pirate as her expression turned into one of joy and relief. "I- I thought she was going to die. I managed to get a good look of her in your arms and thought-"

"She would have if I were a moment later." Washu interrupted. This caused a look of horror to flash across the other woman's features. "Her heart had stopped for about three minutes, and so I thought I was too late, but she seems to be an incredibly stubborn girl who doesn't like the thought of giving up." She crossed her arms. "What's most amazing is that she is just a two-year-old both on a mental and physical level."

Ryoko couldn't help but grow pale at that information. Everyone had assumed that the girl was at least two because of how small she was, but none of them were fully sure. Now they had confirmation, and Ryoko felt even worse about what she did.

"You're feeling a large degree of guilt over this incident, aren't you, Ryoko?" The question caused her to stammer. "It's okay, you don't need to answer. However, I can not approve of how you handled yourself around her. She is, after-all, just a two-year-old girl. Your careless actions could have killed her."

"I- I didn't know that this was going to happen. I was just trying to have a little fun. I-"

"It's okay," Washu comforted, "I'm not going to punish you… this time. You realize the terrible error of your actions and are feeling remorse for what has occurred. I'm certain that everyone else will forgive you, but," She motioned towards the healing two-year-old, "Getting her to forgive you is what really matters."

Ryoko nodded silently as she stared at the small girl within the tank. After a long moment, she turned around and made her way out of the lab. When the girl wakes up, she'll try and apologize for what happened.

As soon as the former space pirate left, Washu gave off a loud yawn as she stretched out her arms. Working for three hours on stabilizing a near-death child was incredibly taxing, and the diminutive scientist felt as if she could go for a nap. The computer and healing tank would continue to monitor the girl's condition while fixing up her body and integrating the programmed changes. If there was any danger of harm, an alarm would wake her up instantly.

About 10 minutes after the redhead left the area, another person entered in search of her. She was blonde with dark skin and large blue eyes. "Washu-san!" Mihoshi called out, but received no answer. Upon looking around, she noticed the glass tank that held a small two-year-old floating within. "Oh," She said as she walked towards the tank, "That must be Ranma-cha- Wha!" The blonde galaxy police officer tripped over her own feet and fell forward, hitting her head against the computer control console.

"Owwwiieee…" Mihoshi cried as she pulled herself up. As she did, however, her fingers accidentally pressed a few buttons, and she didn't notice that her hand landed on yet another button. "That huurrtt!" She whined as she rubbed her head. "Wonder where Washu-san went. Maybe she's no longer here right now." As she took in her surroundings, Mihoshi started to notice just how spooky the area seemed. The room was dark, and the only sounds were the constant beeping and humming of machinery along with the occasional bubbling of liquid within the large glass tank. It almost seemed like the makings of some kind of horror movie.

A small beep from the computer caused the ditzy blonde to jump in fright. "Maybe I should talk to Washu-san later…" With that, she quickly made her way out of the lab. Little did she realize that her meddling had managed to slightly modify the programmed task.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"OI!" Ranma called out as she sat upon a weathered rock. All around her was a rough sea with the only land in sight being what looked like an island off into the far distance. As the waves crashed against the rock, she couldn't help but shiver at the water that splashed onto her. She didn't know where she was, and it was beginning to freak her out. "A- Anybody out there?" Her call was drowned out by the roaring water. "Where am I?"

Pulling her knees close to her chest and resting her chin on top, the tiny redhead wrapped her arms around her legs and watched as the sky began to cloud over and grow dark. Thunder and lightning were soon followed by sheets of pouring rain, and it wasn't long before the sea itself turned even more chaotic as the waves grew larger and larger. As she grew cold and wet, she couldn't stop her body from shivering.

She didn't know what was going on, and it was starting to scare her. She wanted to be warm and dry, not cold or wet, and she wanted to be in a place that was safe instead of dangerous. A deafening roar of thunder and a violent flash of lightning caused her to instantly lift her head, and there in front of her was a wave that towered over her by 20 meters. As it barreled down onto the redhead, Ranma braced herself and waited for the inevitable to happen.

…But the wave never came, and for that matter, she no longer felt wet or cold. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to see that a feminine figure was sitting right next to her, and that there was an odd barrier erected around the both of them that kept the wind, rain, and waves from reaching them. Lifting her head, Ranma was able to see that the woman had long golden hair that seemed to float slightly without any kind of outside interference. She was unable to see the woman's eyes, but could feel them staring down at her. There was something about her that made the redhead feel safe, and a desire to stay near and not leave.

"W- Who are you?"

"A friend." The mysterious woman answered with a soft and comforting voice as she pushed strands of wet hair away from the child's face. "I have no real name, but you may call me L-chan."

Ranma couldn't help but feel that it sounded like an odd name, but who was she to judge? "Where am I?"

"The Sea of Chaos." L answered as she pulled out a cloth to wipe the redhead's face. Of course, the woman had to add silently, it wasn't the _**TRUE**_ Sea of Chaos… which was but a plain of utter nothingness. "My home."

"Huh?" The two-year-old asked with a blink. "How can you live here? It seems so dangerous." Her eyes glanced back at the rough sea and stormy skies.

L gave a simple wave of her arm, and Ranma was awed to see sea instantly become calm. The rain also stopped and led to the clouds dispersing to allow for a bright and clear sky. "I am but the mistress of this domain. It is little trouble for me to change it if it becomes to my dislike."

"Wow…" The young child let out with wide eyes. "Hey, hey, L-chan, can ya teach me to do something like that?" To be able to instantly change the weather would be fun.

The golden-haired woman gently ran her hand through the girl's hair. "You have the potential to do that… and more. However, it could take countless years until that becomes possible."

"Why does it always come down to years?" Ranma crossed her arms and pouted. Nearly everything she wanted to do couldn't be done or achieved for several years, and she was getting tired of it. "I wanna do something right now."

"But there is something you can do." This caused her to look up at the woman with intense curiosity. "You can do magic. You may not be able to do much until your little body becomes tired, but you can still do a few things before that happens."

Another pout took over the two-year-old's features. "I can't figure it out though."

"You just need to have the desire. Magic works best when there is something that you want to do." L gently pulled the redhead close and allowed her to lie upon her lap as she continued to softly stroke her hair. "An example is if you want to create a fire, gust of wind, a bit of ice, or something else. All you have to do is want it to happen. Your imagination is the key to grander things. If you can move past the self-imposed barriers of the mind, wondrous things await."

"Just need to want it…" Ranma mumbled to herself. As she watched the sea shift, she couldn't help but notice that the sky was beginning to turn dark again, and small parts of the water were bubbling and rippling. "H- Hey, L-chan, what's happening?"

Before an answer could be given, the sea exploded as several large figures shot out from the water and towered over the both of them. They were hidden within shadows, but Ranma could tell what they were by the glowing yellow and slit eyes, sharp fangs, long claws, and the basic shape. As she stared, the two-year-old couldn't help but try and instinctively cling onto the golden-haired woman's dress for safety, but found that said woman had vanished. In fact, the area she was in had also changed to that of a dark, enclosed space.

"MEEEOOOWWWW!" The shadowy cats all called out as they rushed towards the trembling two-year-old with their claws poised to strike.

Screaming in fright and closing her eyes, Ranma felt herself being batted to the ground as the demons circled around her like sharks to a meal. "L-CHAN!" She cried out in hopes that the woman was still around so as to help her get away from the pure evil encircling her. "L- L-chan, I don't wanna be here anymore! I'm scared!"

With a collective yowl, the cats leapt towards the petrified two-year-old as one, and each were attempting to aim for a different vital spot as their claws extended outward.

Just before Ranma could scream out again, however, a golden barrier appeared around her and knocked the shadows away. Accompanying the barrier was the golden-haired L standing straight with her arms crossed. When she saw the woman, Ranma hopped to her feet and quickly clung to her legs for safety as she watched the shadow cats get back up.

"Do not worry about these vile creatures, Ranma-chan. They are but mere kittens trying to act like lions." The woman grabbed the two-year-old's hand and pulled her out from behind. "You must show them that that they are trying to mess with something they shouldn't"

"B- But L-chan…" The redhead trailed off as she watched the shadows regroup and prepare to leap. "What can I do? They're going to eat me! I can't-"

"What did I say earlier, Ranma-chan?" The golden blonde asked as she reached down to comfortingly stroke the child's hair. "You already have what it takes to protect yourself. All you have to do is want it."

Ranma gulped as she turned her head to stare at the creatures as they crouched down to pounce. "Gotta want it…"

"REEEOOOOWWWRRRR!" The cats all screamed as they leapt towards her.

"G- Gotta want it!"

Several sets of claws extended even further as fangs glinted in the darkness.

"YAAAHHHH!" Ranma shouted as she tossed her hands forward and let loose a blast of sparkling mist. As she watched, Ranma witnessed the attack cover the approaching shadows and obscured them from vision. Once the mist cleared, she could see the cat beasts, but instead of dark shadows, they were nothing more than ice statues. A second later, the ice began to crack, and the creatures collapsed into an icy dust.

"D- Did I do that?" Ranma asked to herself with wide eyes. Once she realized that she did, she couldn't help but punch the air in victory. "I'm so awesome!" Turning towards L-sama, she gave the woman the victory sign.

"You did well." The golden blonde said with a nod. "But when you wake up, you must remember what I have taught you and be successful in gathering it." She proceeded to run her hand across the now curious redhead.

"Huh? What do you mean by when… I… wake…" Ranma promptly toppled over, but was caught, and the woman allowed her to peacefully sleep upon her lap.

Looking down at the sleeping redhead in her lap, L-sama couldn't help but allow a smirk to spread across her lips. It seemed as if everything was going according to plan. There were a few snags, but everything seemed back on track. It was only a matter of years now, but had the patience necessary to wait, though. No matter how long it would take.

As she continued to stare, she couldn't contain a giggle at just how adorable the two-year-old was really was. "Maybe the wait won't be so bad after all." The golden-haired woman commented as she ran a finger across the child's cheek and watched as she made a small twitch. Yes, she definitely had the patience.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As she slowly opened her eyes, Ranma noted that she was in a darkened room that contained the telltale signs of running machinery. The first thing she understood was that she was lying on some kind of bed with a blanket covering her. As she attempted to figure out where she could be, her mind tried to wrap itself around a dream that she had. It was mostly fuzzy, but one of the things that she could remember was someone named L. For some reason, thinking about that name gave her a sense of comfort and safety, but she didn't know why. 'Gotta want to…'

"This just doesn't make sense." A voice sounded from somewhere behind her. It sounded female, and there was an accompanying sound of fingers furiously typing. "The program shouldn't have performed a scan of the subconscious, nor should it have also integrated what it found into the Masu assimilation process." All the two-year-old could gleam from that was that something did what it shouldn't have done and ended up combining with something else. "Oh, it seems as if the patient is awake."

'Guess I'm that patient.' Ranma thought. She then watched as a girl who seemed no older than 12 appeared to her left. The mystery girl had bright long red hair that had an odd crab-like style in the front. Her eyes were an emerald green that seemed to contain a knowledgeable look, and there was just something about them that made Ranma give a nervous shiver.

"Good evening, Ranma-chan." Washu said with a bright smile. "You woke sooner than I thought you would, but that's okay."

"Um… who are you?"

The older redhead snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right, you haven't met me yet." Stepping back, she placed her hands on her hips. "I am Washu, the greatest scientific genius in the whole universe!" She proceeded to give off a laugh that made the two-year-old want to pull the blanket over her head and hide. "Of course, you may call me Washu-chan."

"Err- Okay." Ranma didn't know what else to say, and felt as if she were in the presence of a mad woman. Sitting up, she pushed off her blanket and immediately noticed that she was in the nude. "Hey, where are my clothes?" Not that she really cared much for the outfit, but it was the only thing she had to wear at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but they were completely destroyed during the mishap you had this morning." That didn't mean she couldn't easily reconstruct the outfit, though. "However, I can quickly get you something to put on." Summoning her holographic laptop, Washu punched in a few keys to allow a set of clothes to appear.

Ranma could only stare when she saw a computer appear out of nowhere, and was also surprised when some clothing materialized in front of her. She was a little disheartened to see that the outfit consisted of a light blue sundress, though. The underwear also had a small image of a puppy's head on it.

'At least it's better than another lolita outfit.' She thought as she grabbed the clothing and hopped off of the medical bed. As she touched the floor, the two-year-old felt her balance give out and send her falling forward onto her face. "Ooowwww…" Ranma let out as she wiped the tears from her eyes. 'I can't believe I was that clumsy.' Pushing herself back to her feet, she found that she was still having difficulties in balancing and fell to her knees. "Hey, what's wrong with me? Why can't I stand?"

"Well, you see," Washu began as she tried to figure out how she should break the news to a two-year-old. "There was a little mishap that happened as you were being healed earlier, and I don't know how it happened."

The younger redhead did not like the sound of that, and it filled her with a sense of dread and worry. "W- What do you-" A large mirror was placed in front of her. What she saw as she stared into it caused her to instantly freeze in terror. Raising her hands towards her head ever so slowly, she was able to confirm, to her horror, that she did have a pair of red and furry cat ears. This meant that the tail she saw swishing behind her - and felt now that she realized - was real as well. There was also the issue of the slightly elongated canines, sharper claw-like fingernails, and the very slight change to her pupils.

"As you can see," Washu said with a small smile, "It's not as bad as it sounds." After-all, a two-year-old would probably shout out in amazement at the idea at being a kitty. Upon giving a closer look, the redheaded genius instantly noted that the girl was trembling with a fearful look in her eyes. "Ranma-chan?"

"No… no… don't wanna be a cat." Ranma managed to get out as she reached up and attempted to pull at the ears to get them off, but let go because she didn't want to touch them. "Get them away. Don't wanna be a cat. Don't wanna be a cat monster" She continued to fall deeper into fear as she hugged herself and rocked back and forth as the image of the shadow cats from her dream towering over her appeared in her mind.. Her mantra of 'don't wanna be a cat' and 'get them away' continued over and over as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Washu didn't know what was going on. She didn't even know why the girl was so distraught or afraid of cats. The only thing that she did know, though, was that there was a scared two-year-old child in front of her who seemed to be going through her own version of hell. As such, motherly instincts quickly kicked in, and Washu found herself holding the smaller redhead in her arms and whispering soothing words as she rocked her back and forth.

"Shh, it'll be alright. There are no evil cats around to harm you, and you're as safe as can be." After almost five minutes, she had managed to calm the girl enough for her fall off to sleep. As she sat there, Washu couldn't help but wonder just what could have happened to make her fear cats so much. She contemplated the idea of seeing if she could get rid of the appendages, but figured that maybe it could help her overcome her fear. She'd just have to keep a close eye on her and provide some help.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Ranma next opened her eyes, she couldn't help but wonder just how many times this was going to happen. In just a short amount of time, she found herself waking up for perhaps the fourth time in what had to be two days. She wasn't sure, however, because of her current ignorance of time due to crossing time zones and mostly being out of it. From the looks of things, though, it was morning again.

Glancing around, she noticed that her location was different from her previous one. Currently, she was lying in a comfy futon that sat next to a bed. The room itself appeared neat and tidy, and large windows allowed sunlight to trickle in. If she were to guess, Ranma would have to say that she was still in the house that she had arrived in not that long ago.

A movement on top of her blanket made the two-year-old face forward, and she found her eyes staring into the large yellow eyes of some kind of brown rabbit. Upon its forehead was a small red gem of some kind. It was giving her a wide and happy smile, and Ranma couldn't help but return one of her own. The child in her wanted to reach out and…

"Myah!" It cried out happily

…pull the covers over her head to make the creature that sounded like a cat go away. "I'm not here!" She shouted in a muffled voice from beneath the blankets. "P- Please go away. I don't like cats." Even if it didn't look like one, it still sounded like one, and so it must have been some weird species of cat. As such she was going to stay under the blanket until it left.

Or at least she thought she would. Ranma couldn't stifle a tiny 'eep' when the blanket was pulled off of her. Instead of the tiny meowing rabbit, however, there was a girl of about two or so years older than her. Said girl had light tanish-brown skin with long blue-silver hair that was brown in the middle. On the brown hair was also a tiny red gem similar to the animal from a moment ago. She had incredibly long ears and - like the creature - yellow eyes. The outfit she wore was a blue dress with a couple carrots designed on the front. Upon her feet was a pair of pink socks.

Ranma, putting two and two together, could only assume that the creature and this girl were one in the same. As such, she couldn't help but gulp. "Were you that creature I just saw?"

"Myah," Ryo-Ohki said with a nod. "Myaow myaou-ou"

Wincing, but only slightly, Ranma pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Sorry, I'm just scared of cats, not you." She blinked when the girl grasped her hands and pulled her up into a standing position. The two-year-old then reencountered the problem she had earlier: her balance.

"I still have cat ears and a tail, don't I?" She asked as she lifted her hands towards her crimson ears. Looking behind, Ranma could see her tail that jutted out through a hole that was cut into the blue dress and - most likely - underwear. Closing her eyes, she turned away and hoped to try and at least forget about them. Briefly, she wondered why she wasn't freaking out as bad as she did when she last found out about her new features. By all accounts, she should have become a blubbering mess. Better than dwelling on that and possibly cause _**HERSELF**_ to go crazy, she decided to focus on her balancing issue. "Why can't I stand or walk?"

Ryo-Ohki gave a few myahs in response to her question and tried to make an effort of telling her the reason that she had learned from overhearing Washu. However, she had to explain it through pantomime. The redhead would have laughed if it weren't for her current predicament.

"So it's because of my… tail that my balance is shot, and I need to learn how to use it to help me." The younger girl grumbled, but then her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Ryo-Ohki. "Hey, I can understand what you were saying."

"Myao-myah?"

"Yeah, I can." Ranma answered with a nod. She was then caught off guard when the cabbit-girl grabbed her by the hands and started to happily dance around. "H- Hey, cut it out." After a moment, the redhead managed to pull free, but - due to balance issues - ended up stumbling backwards and into the bedroom door.

Or, at least she would have if she hadn't gone _**THROUGH**_ it and fallen onto her back on the other side. When she realized what she had done, Ranma could only stare in shock as she attempted to figure out what happened. That was when she witnessed Ryo-Ohki walk through the door as if it were no big deal. "H- How did I- Did you- Did we do that?" Pushing to her feet, the small redhead stumbled over to the door and tried to move through it, but found that she couldn't manage it. 'Maybe it only works going out.'

She was soon pulled back towards Ryo-Ohki as the cabbit told her that Washu would help explain things. Before she could say anything else, Ranma found that the older girl was helping leading her along so that she could walk. It honestly felt as if she was learning how to all over again, and it was all because of the stupid tail swishing behind her.

That didn't mean she wasn't appreciative of the older girl's help, though. Without it, she would have probably fallen down the stairs and got seriously injured. She also couldn't help but find herself enjoying the company, and was having fun talking with her despite the cat-like sounds. It was also how she learned that her name was Ryo-Ohki and that she also had a similar issue with balancing when she first obtained her child form.

"Thanks," Ranma said softly as Ryo-Ohki helped her down from the last step.

"Ah, I knew I was right in leaving Ryo-Ohki to watch after her." A familiar voice spoke up. "Are you feeling better now?"

Turning her head, the two-year-old caught sight of the older redhead from earlier leaning against the side of the stairs. "Sure, except for the fact that I'm part cat." She answered with a half-lidded stare. "Isn't there something that-"

"Ranma-chan!" The newly-turned cat-girl turned to see another familiar girl with blue hair. She was also accompanied by a taller dark-skinned blonde woman. "Are you okay? I was worried about when you got hurt."

"It was so scary to know that you almost died!" The blonde shouted with a tearful sniff. "That would have been so terrible!"

Ranma couldn't help but sweat as she stared at the sniffling woman. Surely she was exaggerating just how hurt she had been. Turning her head a little, she also caught sight of a raven-haired teenaged boy of around 17 and another girl who had purple hair. 'Are these all his sisters?' It felt as if she was forgetting someone though, but she couldn't imagine who.

"Hey, kid," A voice that caused her body to stiffen spoke up from behind. Spinning around, the two-year-old couldn't help but stare at the cyan-haired woman from earlier. "I just wanna say that I'm really sorr-"

She didn't quite get out what she wanted to say as the scream of a terrified two-year-old interrupted her. Everyone watched as said child - despite being clumsy with her balance - ran away and jumped to the other side of a chair. Once there, she poked her head up to look over the arm; a look of utter fear was present within her eyes.

"K- Keep her away. Don't let that monster anywhere near me!"

Ryoko acted as if she had been slapped. "Hey kid, I'm not a monster." She took a step, but watched as the girl made a sound and ducked out of view. Noticing this, the former space pirate stopped. Biting her lip, she turned her attention towards the wall. Her guilt over what she had done to the redhead quickly returned.

"I'm going to go see if-"

"Wait a moment, Tenchi." Washu said with a raised hand. "And you too, Sasami-chan. That also goes double for _**YOU**_, Mihoshi."

"But Washu-oneechan…" Sasami began with a worried look.

"It's already taken care of." The diminutive genius pointed towards Ryo-Ohki as the cabbit - in animal form - hopped over and leapt behind the chair. Everyone could hear mumbled speech and myahing, but nobody could understand what was being said. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Ranma moved out from behind the chair with Ryo-Ohki held close to her chest.

The two-year-old stood there and hesitated as she stared at Ryoko, but comforting words from Ryo-Ohki urged her on. Slowly but surely, the small redhead finally made her way over to where Ryoko was standing.

"Um… Ryo-Ohki told me that you aren't a monster." She couldn't help but pay attention to her feet. "Sorry for calling you one." The earlier confrontation she had with the woman still made Ranma wary of being even being around her. 'I wouldn't be acting like this if I wasn't a damn child.'

Ryoko allowed a small smile to appear. It still seemed as if the girl was afraid of her, but at least she wasn't considered a monster anymore. "You're an OK kid, squirt." She said as she gave Ranma a small pat on the head. It was hard to miss the redhead's violent flinch at the touch, and it was just proof that Ryoko still had a long way to go. Still, progress was progress.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma couldn't help but glance from person to person as introductions were made. She felt incredibly out of place and unwilling to really say anything. As such, she just kept silent and continued to hold onto Ryo-Ohki. A small bit of commentary from the cabbit slightly confused her as to how Ryoko could be the creature's sister, and how Washu was the mother of both of them. The crab-haired girl didn't exactly look like she'd be old enough to have a child, and Ryoko seemed much older than her as well.

"So- Um- Why do I have these?" The two-year-old pointed to her ears and tail as her eyes portrayed a distraught look.

"Your current physical appearance is due to some unforeseen incident that occurred while your body was healing." Washu explained as she sat across from her. "You see, while you were healing, I decided that the best course of action would be to give you a little special something to help you cope with the 'dangers' that can go on around here. I programmed it so that while you were healing, your entire being right down to the DNA level would integrate and assimilate with the DNA of the Masu. I also threw in a little extra protocol that would allow you to perform the various abilities that Ryoko and I share."

Silence followed that explanation for about a minute before the other residents of the house shouted a unified 'what?'

"Dangers my ass," Ryoko growled as she grabbed the smaller woman by the collar. "You just wanted to have a little fun in observing the end result, and what's the big idea with giving her my abilities?"

Ayeka's left eye developed a nervous twitch. "W- Washu-sama, isn't the Masu the thing that tried to attack Tenchi?" At the mention of that, Tenchi couldn't help but sweat.

"But didn't Washu-oneechan say that Ryoko-oneechan and Ryo-chan were created with using Masu?" Sasami asked as she thought back to the lesson the scientist gave them.

"Oh wow, Ranma-chan will be able to do so many wonderful things!" Mihoshi shouted happily with a clap.

From her spot in the chair, Ranma couldn't help but scratch the side of her head as she watched everyone crowd around the older redhead. When she did, she felt that her perfectly normal _**HUMAN**_ ears were missing, and that only caused her to think more about the cat ears. "So while I was asleep, you went and did something else to my body?" She honestly did not like the sound of that. "And I can also now fly and stuff like Ryoko?" As her eyes drifted over to the cyan-haired woman, she couldn't help but shrink back a little.

Washu's voice appeared next to her. "You really are quite smart for a two-year-old." After jumping in fright, Ranma turned her head to see the emerald-eyed woman leaning over the arm of the chair and staring directly into her eyes. "But I see that you are still greatly confused."

"Yeah, I don't get it. What's a Masu?" Ranma asked as everyone attempted to stop her.

It was too late, however, and Washu proceeded to go into 'lecture mode' by pulling out a teaching stick and - to the two-year-old's amazement - a holo-screen. "It's quite simple, Ranma-chan. You see, the Masu are an aquatic race of very simple creatures that have relatively simple instincts." The screen displayed an image of a round blob-like creature with small eyes. "They're pretty unimpressive at first glance, and it makes them seem as if they can't do all that much. However, if many of them converge together, they can become quite formidable." The screen changed to several that depicted destroyed ships and vehicles. "Also, if given the right circumstances, desires, imprints, and motivation, they can do extraordinarily amazing things."

The screen changed to one that depicted a tall and vaguely feminine creature that had the same brownish-tan color as the blob-like creature. "You see, not too long ago, several Masu congregated together and formed this new shape for the sole purpose of performing one single task. Needless to say, its mind was still simple, and it easily perceived anything as a threat."

"Wow…" Ranma said in childish wonderment as she stared at the screens. She wondered how those floating screens came about, and also wondered about how they worked. "But what does-"

"Raise your hand please when you want to ask a question, Ranma-chan." Washu interrupted in full teacher mode.

The two-year-old blinked for a moment but promptly did as she was told. "But what does that have to do with me? Am I going to change into one of those things?" There was a hint of fear as she asked the question. From what the older redhead had mentioned, it sounded as if she were going to become 'not human,' and that thought freaked her out. Of course, her new cat features already made her 'not human.'

Washu smiled and gave the child a pat on the head. She was definitely going to have a fun time taking the girl on as a student. Every scan that she had made while healing her had shown that she was - before the change - a completely normal two-year-old human Earthling. That meant that the reason the girl was so smart could have been that she was just gifted and/or soaked up things like a sponge. "An excellent question, but no, you do not have to worry about changing into _**THAT**_." She pointed at the small blob-like creature. "It is true that you are no longer human though. The assimilation of the Masu has rewritten that aspect of you, but for the better."

"How-" A look from the older redhead caused Ranma to quickly raise her hand. "How is it better?"

"It won't become apparent immediately, but it will as time goes by. The changes to your body are still in the process of 'setting up.'" The holo-screen vanished from view. "With your new structure, you won't have to worry about needing to actively breathe to take in oxygen. Your body will be able to collect needed nutrients from your surroundings to convert into its own oxygen to pump your blood. This means that you could survive in places with no proper source of oxygen such as underwater, an enclosed area, or even in outer space. Your body will also continually store excess nutrients to use for when you are in places with nothing to pull out. Along with this, your body will be able to automatically 'tune' itself according to the pressure of an area to allow you to survive."

Ranma couldn't help but allow her jaw to drop. The idea of not being human anymore was disturbing, and she didn't really like it, but the knowledge of her being able to do something awesome as being able to survive underwater or in _**OUTER SPACE**_ without oxygen was just amazing.

"Lastly, you don't have to worry about sickness or toxins. In fact, your new body already allows you immunity to the viruses and diseases that affect humans. As for toxins, your body will neutralize the effects of them so that they can pass harmlessly through your system."

It was easy to tell that the two-year-old was getting excited because of her tail. The crimson appendage was wiggling around as she thought about fantastic the information sounded. Ranma must have noticed or felt her moving tail, because she quickly stiffened.

"Now we get to why you are currently a cat-girl." Washu said with a loud clap. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure just _**HOW**_ it ended up happening, because by all accounts, it shouldn't have."

"But you do know why it happened, right Washu-chan?" Tenchi asked as he glanced between the genius and the two-year-old.

Washu merely smiled. "Of course."

"Tell me." Ranma said as she placed her hands to her ears and shivered.

With a nod, Washu crossed her arms and sat down. "For some reason, the programming process that foresaw the changes to your structure changed. Something caused it to go ahead and perform a deep subconscious scan of your mind to see if it could gleam anything of interest. Once the scan completed, it managed to find something that it figured out to be useful, and a second process that shouldn't have been running took the information and combined it with the one that oversaw the Masu restructuring of your body. I assume that once the necessary changes were fed into your body, the Masu ended up combining with it and allowing the process to fully complete. Even now your body is still adjusting to the changes of becoming part cat, and I think that it will continue to become more and more integrated into you as time goes by."

"NOOOOOOO!" Ranma shouted as she shook her head. "I don't wanna turn into a cat!" The idea of slowly changing into the four-legged beast scared her to the core, and se would rather face 1,000 cats than become one.

"The physical changes have stopped!" Washu announced in an effort to calm the girl down. "You won't have to worry about one day waking up and finding yourself covered in fur and walking on four legs." That information managed to calm the younger redhead. "However, that doesn't mean that you won't develop a more cat-like mentality and mannerisms. If anything, it should also allow you to become more comfortable around them as well."

Ranma still didn't like the sound of becoming more cat-like in mind and actions, and she sure in hell didn't want to become more comfortable with the beasts. "Stupid Neko-ken." She growled to herself. It just figured that her problem with cats had to follow her into rebirth, but at least it seemed to be only the fear and not the insanity.

"Ranma-chan," Sasami began with a curious look, "What's the Neko-ken?"

The two-year-old froze and glanced up to see that everyone was staring at her and possibly waiting for her answer. Cursing to herself for letting the word slip, she decided that it might be a good idea to give them at least a LITTLE info. Maybe then they wouldn't see her as just a child.

"Well- You see- I…" Why was she so nervous about saying? It's not like they'd really believe her, and they'd probably think she was just being a silly child. "I… I was attacked by a bunch of hungry cats." No, she would not tell them about her being reincarnated or how she used to be male. If she did that, they'd probably think she were a freak and kick her out. "Some ugly bald man thought he could make me strong by putting fish around me and pushing me into hole with a bunch of hungry cats." She couldn't help but glance downward as her ears drooped. Her tail had also unconsciously wrapped around to allow her to hold onto it. If she had realized what she was doing, she would have tossed the appendage away in fright.

Almost instantly, the new cat-girl found herself in the arms of Washu who had almost seemed to teleport to her. "She's so cute!" The genius shouted as if she were nothing more than a school girl doting on an adorable puppy. Sasami and Mihoshi were also right next to them and doting on her cuteness. Several feet away, Ryoko, Ayeka were attempting to _**NOT**_ burst at the Cute Kitten-Girl Attack of Doom. Near them, Tenchi was coughing into his fist and had a pinkish tinge on his cheeks.

"Let me go!" Ranma shouted in a muffled voice as she attempted to flail her arms, but to no avail. She felt like she wanted to be anywhere else BUT right there getting hugged. Almost instantly after that, and to the surprise of everyone, the small redhead vanished.

"Where did Ranma-chan go?" Sasami asked worriedly as she looked around.

Washu gave her chin a tap. "It seems she managed to perform her first teleport."

"But to where?" Tenchi asked as he and the others started to search. "She could have ended up anywhere."

A small noise convinced everyone to look up, and there, on one of the rafters, was the cat-girl in question. Only the top of her head and hands were visible as her head poked over the side and stared down at them while her ears gave off a few nervous twitches. Her tail also appeared as it draped off the other side of the platform. "Um… a little help?" She asked as her hands gripped the corner and wondered just how she managed to get up there in the first place.

Slapping her head and giving a sigh, Ryoko vanished and reappeared on top of the rafter with her legs crossed. Observing the two-year-old redhead, the ex space-pirate noted that she had her body scrunched up and was lying like a cat with her arms and legs underneath her. Ryoko went to reach out and grab the back of her dress collar, but when Ranma noticed her, she made an eep and attempted to scramble away. However, before she could, her hand phased through the wood and sent her off balance. Before she could fall off the side, Ryoko grabbed her and teleported back down to the floor before turning to glare at Washu.

"Just _**WHAT**_ made you think that giving those abilities to a _**TWO-YEAR-OLD**_ was a good idea?"

Ayeka also appeared next to the genius with her own glare. "Yes, how could you do something so irresponsible?"

Instead of acknowledging them, Washu moved over to Ranma as Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Tenchi, and Mihoshi were making sure she was okay. "I see you discovered your ability to teleport and move through solid objects."

Ranma gave her a wide-eyed look. "So what happened with the bedroom door earlier…." The ability sounded awesome, but what if she didn't watch herself when trying it out? Did that mean she could fall through the floor and get stuck down there? 'Best to not think about it…' She thought with a shiver. That was when something else clicked within her mind: She could teleport. Just that fact alone made her situation seem a little better… except for the entire cat issue, and not really being human anymore. Still, she could do something awesome.

Helping the younger redhead to her feet, Washu continued her explanation. "You should also be able to fly and perform other abilities that you'll learn about with time. However, at your current age and development, you will be limited in just what you can do and how long you can do it. More often than not, you will only be able to do these things on accident, much like what's happening now." She casually pointed to the floor.

Glancing down, Ranma saw that she really was slowly phasing through the floor. With a yelp, she tried to pull herself out, but found that she couldn't do a thing to stop it. Luckily for her, Tenchi reacted the quickest and had pulled her out. "Washu-chan, I think I agree with Ryoko and Ayeka in that it wasn't a good idea to give her these abilities."

Washu gave him an innocent look. "But Tenchi, what if Ryoko decides to be reckless with her again? What if she gets caught in the crossfire of a fight between Ayeka and Ryoko? Maybe Mihoshi causes a little accident? Or perhaps she even finds herself in some other kind of danger? She's two-years-old after all, and these changes will help her survive better. I'm only looking out for her best interest."

"Washu-oneechan, you're not going to make her into your guinea pig, are you?" Sasami asked with a curious look. This earned a series of questioning gazes from everyone present as they waited.

"I bet she already has." Ryoko accused as she crossed her arms. She was a little miffed at being used in part of Washu's list of examples of things hazardous to the kid's safety. "Should be obvious with what she's already done."

Suppressing a sweat drop, the diminutive genius gave a dismissive wave of her hand. If they did find out that she had guinea pig in mind for a two-year-old, she'd never hear the end of it. Of course, she did still have one other thing in mind for the girl. "None of you have to worry about her becoming my guinea pig, because I've decided that she'll become my student."

There was a long moment of silence before everyone gave a shout of 'WHAT?' It wasn't long before all they could imagine was the younger redhead taking after the older and turn into a nearly identical clone, but with different colored eyes and cat features. The very idea caused terrible chills to travel down the spines of all those present.

"N- Now wait a minute, Washu-sama," Ayeka stammered, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean-"

Ryoko pushed the princess out of the way. "We don't need two of ya! You hear me?"

Washu gave the woman an amused look. "Oh don't be silly, Ryoko." She proceeded to walk on past. "After-all, we all know that there can only be one Washu, supreme genius of the universe." A maniacal cackle followed her proclamation.

'Just what have I gotten myself into this time?' Ranma asked with a nervous look as she stared at the obvious mad scientist.

"Still," Washu said once she stopped cackling, "You have all surely noticed how advanced she is for a two-year-old, and I just can't let that be an opportunity to pass up." There was also the part about the girl's potential, but she left that out. "That means that you, Ranma-chan," She plucked the two-year-old out of Tenchi's arms and set her upon the floor, "are my newest and first pupil in thousands of years."

"…thousands of years?" Ranma asked with a blink. "Whaddaya mean by that? You only look like you're 12." Even that caused her to wonder what with all the machinery and gizmos from earlier.

The genius couldn't help but smile as she gave the child a pat on the head. "And that, my adorable little student, will be part of your first lesson on the existence of extraterrestrial life."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

Sorry for taking so long in updating this chapter.


	4. Learning is Fun, You Know?

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to the people of Fukufics and Lawra for helping with the pre-reading.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 4

Ranma honestly couldn't believe her ears. Sure, she knew that the people she was currently with - well, at least Washu and that creepy Ryoko woman - weren't normal, but she never would have guessed that they were aliens. This meant that her view of reality was, once again, shattered into several small pieces before being stepped on by a pair of heavy boots.

Still, it did make sense that there was life out there on other worlds. She just didn't think that they'd look so much like humans, and figured that kind of thing was only limited to anime and manga. 'I thought aliens would have weird colored skin and strange-looking bodies…'

The explanation that they had given her was pretty simple, though, since both Ayeka and Tenchi felt that the concepts would be too much for her to understand. After-all, even if she did show off a lot of intelligence for a child her age, she was still 'only' two-years-old. It was that kind of thing that Ranma hated the most about being a child again. Well, that _**AND**_ having to put up with a child mentality and body as well.

"Ranma-chan," Sasami said with a bright smile as she grabbed one of the younger child's hands. "Do you want to walk with me and Ryo-Ohki? We could show you around the shrine and the carrot fields, as well as any other places you'd like to see."

"Myaow myah!" Ryo-Ohki shouted from her spot on Sasami's head.

A small shiver ran down Ranma's spine at the cabbit's shout, but she managed to suppress any other feelings of fear that attempted to crop up. "I guess so." She answered with a small nod. She never had a chance to see the area around the house because she was running in terror through the woods when she first got there. It would also be a good idea to become familiar with the area so that she didn't end up getting lost… again.

"Wait, Sasami-chan," Washu said as she walked over and placed a hand on top of Ranma's head, "I think I'll be the one to show our guest around the area."

Sasami couldn't help but give the genius a sad look. "Aww, but I wanted to show her around." Ryo-Ohki also voiced her sadness, but went to make a leap to jump on the small cat-girl's head. However, she was stopped before she could even move from her spot.

"Sorry, but you can't go either, Ryo-Ohki. It'll be just me and Ranma-chan."

"Hey, what are you trying to pull?" Ryoko asked with a suspicious look in her eyes. "It's not like you to do something as trivial as this without some kind of motive."

Tenchi raised his hand. "Now Ryoko, I'm sure Washu-chan has a good reason for wanting to show her around."

"Oh Tenchi, you really _**DO**_ care about little ol' me." Washu gushed playfully as she clasped her hands together below her chin. "We really must retreat to my lab and perform some more wonderful experiments again." She could tell that Ryoko and Ayeka were about ready to burst in anger, but ignored them as she gave Ranma a pat on top of the head. "But yes, I do have a good reason. I think that showing her around would be a perfect opportunity for a little student-teacher bonding. We're going to have so much fun studying the landscape and learning about what is what."

There was a collective 'oh' amongst the group as they all found themselves pitying the child that had managed to gain the mad scientist's attention. Of course, they also thanked their lucky stars that it wasn't them who had to go through with that torture.

A sweat-drop came into existence as Ranma attempted to get away. Before she could get too far, however, a hand grabbed the back of her collar. The next thing the small cat-girl knew, she was being carried away in the crook of Washu's arm. "Lemme go! I don't wanna learn about boring things!" She attempted to wave at everyone for help, but they didn't do a thing to save her. "Meanies!"

"Now, now, Ranma-chan," They heard Washu say as she opened the door, "You may find it boring right now, but I'm sure that you'll learn to appreciate it soon enough." The door then shut just as Ranma was about to comment back.

"Ayeka-oneechan… Ranma-chan really is going to be like Washu-oneechan, isn't she?"

A long moment of silence filled the room before the older princess answered. "Let's just hope not…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Setting the younger redhead back down on the ground as soon as they were far enough away from the house, Washu gave her a smile. "How about we start by visiting the shrine? There's still one more person around here you should meet."

With a childish pout visible upon her features, Ranma gave her a nod as she started to follow the genius. Already she noticed at least some improvement in her walking ability, but found herself still stumbling every few steps. "But Washu, why do I- Ow!" She rubbed the back of her head where she had received a small slap. "What didja do that for?"

The older redhead stopped and raised a finger. "First of all, I'd prefer it if you called me Washu-chan, because I'm just so cute and adorable like that." The statement earned her a half-lidded stare. "Second of all, since I have taken you on as my student, you shall start referring to me as Washu-sensei."

"And if I don't?"

Placing her finger to her lips, Washu put on a show of considering the question. "I could always go and adjust your physical appearance so as to make you more of a cat." She watched as Ranma paled. "I imagine that you'd look cute with fur." Calling forth her laptop, Washu proceeded to pull up a holo-image of the child with fur.

"Urk-" It was all Ranma could let out as she stared at the image of her with a small fine layer of light red fur that could be seen on every inch of her body.

"Oh! How about we see how you'd look if her were a little kitten." The image changed to show one of her as a full kitten. "Would you like to try it out?" Washu asked with a glint in her eye. "It'd only be child's play for the greatest scientific genius in the universe."

Ranma quickly and frantically waved her arms in front of her. "N- No thank you, Washu-sensei. I'm fine the way I am." Internally, she couldn't help but lament her fate at being stuck with some alien mad scientist who could change her entire body without breaking a sweat. 'I'm doomed…'

"And you would have been so cute too. Oh well, maybe some other time then." Washu responded in mock disappointment as she dismissed her laptop. "Come on, Ranma-chan, the shrine is only up these steps."

Glancing up, the two-year-old looked on in surprise at just how many they'd have to climb. If this was before she died, then the steps wouldn't be any problem at all. However, with her toddler body, climbing them would be a task in itself. "Washu… sensei, do we have to go up there now?" She didn't receive an answer, however, due to the genius already starting up the stairs.

"Hey!" Ranma shouted as she started to follow, but ended up tripping onto her face. Sparing a moment to wipe the tears, she got back to her feet and charged up the stairs as best she could. "You could've waited."

"Ranma-chan, what exactly are you trying to hide?" Washu asked as she stopped for a second time to give the girl a curious and deep look. "I brought us far enough so that everyone at the house wouldn't hear us talk."

"Err… what do you mean?" Ranma asked as she attempted to hide her nervousness.

"I'd like to know just who you are exactly. There are several things that just don't add up, and one of them is just how smart you are for a two-year-old. Even if you were a child genius, there are just too many things that you shouldn't be able to understand that you already do, and you also don't seem to have a large problem with pronouncing words. However, you ARE a two-year-old according to every scan I ran, and so I find myself wanting to know the truth to this confusing mystery."

"I don't know what-"

Washu lifted a hand to cut her off. "I'm a 20,000-year-old scientific genius, Ranma-chan. You can not pull one over me so easily, and it's increasingly impossible to do when you don't even try all that hard to hide your intelligence. Nobody else at the house would even think about it for various reasons. Sasami-chan is just eight-years-old, Mihoshi isn't that perceptive, Ryoko doesn't care enough AND is still feeling guilty about nearly killing you, Ayeka-dono only sees you as a two-year-old despite your intelligence, Ryo-Ohki just thinks of you as a friend, and Tenchi-dono has seen enough oddity that it doesn't cause him to question it. You can fool them easily at the moment, but you can't fool me."

Ranma's mouth opened and closed several times as she attempted to try and figure out what to say. Mentally, she cursed herself for not being careful enough and letting too much get out. "I…" She trailed off as she lowered her gaze to the ground in an attempt to think.

Washu proceeded to cross her arms. "I decided to bring this up with you now when nobody else from the house is near so that a panic of some kind can be avoided. If you don't start talking, however, then I _**WILL**_ bring this up with everyone. If that were to happen, then there would be even more unfortunate issues." Reaching out, she tilted the tiny cat-girl's head upwards so as to look her straight in the eye. "You don't have to tell me everything if you don't want to right now, but I'd like to know that you are at least not any kind of threat."

"If I tell, could you not let anybody else know?" The two-year-old asked with eyes filled with an odd mixture of hope and reluctance.

"That depends on whether or not your secret could lead to the harm of everyone around here." The diminutive genius couldn't help but put together several different reasons for the girl's origin. It was possible for her to be an advanced clone with advanced knowledge already implanted into her brain, but that would be difficult to see since she used to be 100 percent human. Of course, it was possible that the creator was great enough to mask that aspect and make a perfect _**HUMAN EARTHLING**_ clone. Another possibility could be that-

"I was killed two years ago and given a chance to be reborn." Ranma finally blurted out.

Washu blinked for a moment, and then she proceeded to blink again. "That's all?"

"Whaddaya mean 'that's all?'" The two-year-old asked with a frown. She had expected the woman to think her explanation was crazy and impossible, because when was the last time someone said 'Oh hey, I was killed a while back, but I was brought back to life.' Did she expect her to say something even more complicated and stranger than that? "What didja expect me to say?"

The older redhead scratched her cheek as she placed her other hand on her hips. "Well, I was anticipating an answer that was more complex and scientific instead of the disappointingly simple and odd one that you supplied." However, the information really was interesting, and - if it were true - provided yet another aspect to the girl that made her a worthy study subject. "How was it that you were killed?" She asked as she watched the young child quietly sulk.

"Some jackass of a wizard got a lucky shot in. If it weren't for that, I would have beaten him." It was an even sorer issue to her due to the fact that said wizard apparently already bit the big one and was defeated by a _**BABY**_ of all things. She didn't believe a word of what that jerk Xellos said about him still being out there, and so she felt that her chance of giving Voldemort a good kick to the ass was gone thanks to some kid out there named Henry Potting… or something like that. "Dunno why, but I was given a chance to come back to life."

"How old were you before you were killed."

"I was 16, but I think I was really close to turning 17."

'She was still just a kid.' Washu thought with a small frown. She decided to continue on with her small questioning session. She doubted that the child would give out information that was more personal or embarrassing, so small general ones would suffice… for now. "Were you a magic user?"

"I was a martial artist." Ranma answered as she crossed her arms and pouted. "Almost 17 years of hard work gone because of this new body."

Washu couldn't help but feel curious as to just how skilled the cat-girl used to be. The primitive little planet they were on did have its share of highly skilled fighters, and a few of them seemed to possess greater than average abilities for human Earthlings. Being able to do more thorough 'research' was something she wished she could do, but the issue of the planet being a developing one worked against her. However…

"You know, Ranma-chan, it might not take you as long to reach your previous level of abilities this time around." At the younger redhead's questioning look, the diminutive genius continued. "Before, you probably had to learn everything about fighting and martial arts from scratch, right?" The two-year-old nodded. "And I assume that the one who helped you along and taught you was a normal Earthling, correct?"

"Yeah, my father." Ranma answered with another nod.

A knowing smile appeared on Washu's lips. "Then everything should be easier this time around." She started to count off on her fingers. "Firstly, you most likely have an idea as to just what you're supposed to do so you can properly train. Secondly, you have the greatest scientific genius in the universe with the ability to provide you with any materials you may need for training. Lastly, there are also your Masu and feline physiologies to take into account."

"What do those last two have to do with anything?" Ranma asked in curiosity. She couldn't help but agree with Washu on the first point. The second one sounded kind of amazing, and her opinion of the mad scientist rose slightly at the fact that she could help her. The final point was something that she did not want to think about. Having to rely on that cursed part of her being was a terrible thought.

"Your cat physiology should - in theory - help you along with balance as soon as you figure out how to work your tail. The changes that are slowly happening to your body are also modifying each of your senses. An example of this is that if someone is attempting to sneak up on you, your hearing or sense of smell will be able to alert you to the presence. It's also likely that you'll be able to sense a person's intentions by listening to the beating of their heart and/or the tone of their voice. I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of you being able to figure out different ways to use your new claws."

Looking down at her hands, Ranma stared at her now claw-like fingernails. She couldn't help but allow a look of disgust to appear as she flexed her hands. She soon blinked a few times when she noticed that every once in a while, her nails would protract and retract ever so slightly. 'That's weird…'

"As for your Masu physiology," Washu continued, "You might not notice it immediately, and it could take a couple years, but you'll eventually notice an all around improvement in your speed, strength, stamina, and various other bodily attributes. The more you train, the more of an improvement you'll notice. Likewise, the less you train, the less improvement you'll gain."

"Wow…" Ranma let out as she thought about the information that was just given to her. If that was true, then she would be able to get back to her previous level of ability faster than she had expected, and it meant that she would no longer have to put up with being a pathetically weak child.

"However, I would not recommend training until you drop dead, because that's counter-productive, and there's no real benefit in being irresponsible to your body like that. These changes will allow a maximum benefit for just the right amount of time spent so that you can reach your goal without pulling all day and night training sessions that would leave you tired and exhausted, and this also means that you'll have a lot more free time to yourself." Washu couldn't help but smile wide. "Of course, you'll be spending some of that time with me as I teach you everything you need to know about the various sciences, mathematics, geography and culture of various planets, and just about anything else I feel that you should know."

"Y- You can't be serious." The young cat-girl said in fear and disbelief at the prospect of studying her ass off.

"Oh, I'm very serious, Ranma-chan." Washu answered as she gave the child a pat on the head. "However, I think it would be a better decision to hold off on beginning your martial arts training until after your physical boosts kick in. As you are right now, trying to train will do nothing but eat up your stamina and cause you to needlessly injure yourself. This means that until that happens, we're going to focus exclusively on your learning and nothing more. Isn't that going to be fun?"

"No…" Ranma said with a half-lidded look before turning and heading up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" The diminutive genius asked as she watched the younger redhead walk away.

"Gonna visit the shrine. Maybe some benevolent spirit will listen and give me luck to get through this." She figured that if she were going to be stuck as the apprentice of a mad scientist, then she could use all the luck she could get.

Washu couldn't help but feel that the smaller redhead was going to be an interesting source of amusement for years to come. When Ranma was far enough away, Washu turned her attention towards the trees at the side of the staircase. "You know, it really isn't polite to listen in on a private conversation."

"Sorry," A male voice said as a figure stepped out from a line of trees, "But when I was heading towards the house for a visit, I couldn't help but notice the child that was accompanying you. You can't blame an elderly man for being curious." He was - as he said - an elderly man with long graying hair tied in a ponytail, and his attire consisted of an outfit often worn by Shinto priests. In front of his eyes was a pair of squared glasses that caught the occasional beam of light.

"I take it that you heard everything."

Katsuhito gave a small nod. "I did, but it would probably be best for her to not know. She comes off as the type who feels safer about keeping information to herself. The only reason you were able to get the information is because you threatened to expose her to everyone else, and she doesn't want that kind of trouble."

"That's also the reason I only asked her a few simple questions." If anything, the girl would have probably outright refused to answer anything that ended up being too personal or secret. Her new student definitely was an interesting mystery that needed solving.

Katsuhito found himself sweating slightly at Washu's sudden outburst of maniacal cackling. Feeling that it was probably the best time to return to his shrine, and to meet their newest guest, he proceeded to climb the steps.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Stupid… stairs…" Ranma huffed out as she fell to her hands and knees right as she reached the top. As she tried to get her breathing under control, she couldn't help but curse her two-year-old body's inability to be able to do anything physical without suffering from exhaustion. As she sat there, Ranma couldn't help but hope that those so called 'boosts' start sooner than was stated, because constantly being reminded of her fragile form was really annoying.

"It's not every day that a child as young as you manages to climb up these old steps." A voice next to her said. Turning her head, the two-year-old noted the old man in Shinto garb who was directing a kindly smile to her. "Would you like a little help up?"

Ranma shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet. "I can do it." She managed to stand up without a hitch, but as she was about to take a step, her foot phased through the ground just enough to cause her to lose her balance. "Crapcrapcrapcrap!" She shouted as she frantically waved her arms and found herself falling backwards. 'This is going to hurt!'

Thankfully, she was saved by Washu as the older redhead placed a hand to her back and pushed her into a safe and upright position. "Perhaps I should have programmed those powers to become dormant and only activate at a later date when you would be able to have better control." The genius mused as she tapped her chin. "Of course, it may be better this way. All you have to do is think of it as being similar to when you were learning to walk. You're clumsy now, but after a while, these abilities will become second nature to you."

"Yes, because I had to worry about falling through things or randomly disappearing to somewhere else when I was learning to walk." Ranma answered sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Just be happy that you haven't started to randomly fly out of control and into objects. If anything, that aspect of your abilities seems to be less volatile than the other two are." Of course, that didn't mean the ability wouldn't cause problems later.

Freezing in place as she thought about it, the two-year-old redhead couldn't help but shiver. The idea of randomly being sent into a large object was bad, but that had nothing on her remembering of her earlier experience of flying via Ryoko. "Don't wanna fly…"

Katsuhito couldn't help but blink at the reaction before looking towards Washu in an effort to understand just what may have lead to the girl's fearful demeanor. Upon learning that it was Ryoko who was at the route of both her minor phobia and change of appearance, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. "I was aware of the explosion that had happened, but I merely assumed that it was caused by Ayeka and Ryoko." Some of their fights did sometimes lead to small explosions. Putting the thought out of his mind, though, the Shinto priest gently placed a hand on top of Ranma's head and flashed the child a wide and kind smile. "It seems that you may have had a rough time on your first day here, but I'm certain that things will soon start to look up."

"I guess…" Ranma mumbled as she thought about how everything seemed to be moving too fast for her to keep up. Getting taken from home by some weirdo, encountering Ryoga, Akane, Kasumi, and her former mother, dropped into a forest by herself, visiting a strange house and getting nearly killed because of a crazy woman, having her body altered and changed from the human one she knew, learning that she was in the presence of aliens, and suddenly gaining a mad scientist for a teacher who wanted to teach her more things than she could possibly handle. All this combined made her wish that she could just go back home, crawl into bed, and hope that it was all just one big crazy dream.

What Ranma wasn't aware of was that as she thought of her current situation, her outward appearance portrayed the look of a young child feeling completely lost and overwhelmed. Her ears and tail, through no conscious thought of her own, drooped down low.

She blinked when she felt a pair of hands grab hold of her ears before pulling them into a upright position. Turning her head, the two-year-old quickly noted that it was Washu who had grabbed onto them. A small reddish tinge could be seen quite clearly upon the older redhead's cheeks. "What are you-"

"You really need to learn to control your feline appendages, Ranma-chan." Ranma's confused look caused Washu to continue. "Your ears and tail have a habit of enhancing your mood from a visual perspective. We'll have to go over this some other time, but what I will tell you right now is that you need to pay close attention to your emotions and what your ears and tail are doing."

"I'd rather forget they even exist!" Ranma snapped as she pulled herself away from the genius. Reaching up, she grabbed hold of her own ears. "These things make me look like some kind of freak!" She couldn't help but shiver as a different thought trickled into her mind. "Crap, I'm now also the fantasy of perverts everywhere. Get these stupid things off!" She yelled as she attempted to pull at the furry protrusions, but only found that they caused her a great deal of pain. "Just get them off."

Before her actions could lead to something worse, her left hand was quickly grabbed by Katsuhito as her right was snatched by Washu. When she glanced from one person to the other, Ranma couldn't help but see the both of them giving her a stern and worried look. "Pulling at your ears is not going to accomplish anything except for severe injury and pain." The elderly priest's voice was as commanding as his look.

"But-"

"You are far from the only one in the universe to have cat features, Ranma-chan." Washu added. "There are several different known races found in this galaxy alone that have features like yours, so it's hardly as bad as you are making it out to be."

"But I'm not an alien!" The two-year-old shouted in anger and distress. "What about when I walk around in public? I'll probably get kidnapped and taken to some freaky laboratory where I'll end up as some kinda guinea pig." That was definitely something she hoped would never happen.

'Too late' Washu thought as she suppressed a cackle. "You could always wear a hat to hide your ears, and it's possible to make a special sash or belt that would allow you to hide your tail underneath. It's also possible to claim that your ears and tail are just accessories. That'd work unless someone tried to pull them."

"Can't you just get rid of them?" Ranma asked with hope shining in her eyes.

Washu tapped her chin for a moment. "I could, because it would be no problem for someone of my caliber." Before the younger redhead could get worked up, however, she continued. "However, I won't."

"WHAT?" Ranma shouted as she pulled her hand free from Washu's and gave her a steel-melting glare. "Whaddaya mean you won't do it? I don't want these things, and you could easily get rid of them." The red in her eyes slowly started to overtake the blue, and it was something that the diminutive genius noticed right away.

"It's because you aren't thinking with a clear head." The older redhead answered as she crossed her arms and met the younger's glare with her own. "You are only dwelling on the negatives while the positives far outweigh them. As I explained earlier, the changes will allow you to be better off once they finish."

"But I-"

"Besides, while it would be easy to change you back, it is currently too soon to even attempt it." That statement caused Ranma to calm down just enough for her eyes to return to normal. "This change to your body was an immense one, and your physical alterations are intertwined very closely with your Masu physiology. Plus, the changes are still active and haven't slowed down at all. If I were to even attempt to make another change to your body with the way it is, you could face severe or irreversible damages. Do you really want to risk the possibility of your body mutating into something even worse, part of you becoming a living bomb, melting into nothing but a puddle of protoplasmic goo, or whatever other possible terrible outcome?"

Ranma couldn't help but gulp at the thought of turning into something that was hundreds of times worse than what she currently was. "W- When do you think would be the soonest and safest time?"

Washu hummed for a moment as she tapped her chin. "It's hard to say, really. If you were older, the Masu aspect would only take a couple months to fully integrate with your body, and it would also only take those couple of months before you would start to show all of the benefits. This is because you'd have a better physique and more mature body. The abilities you were injected with also wouldn't take that long to get the hang of if you were older. The feline aspect would take a little longer, but probably only a few months." She gave the small cat-girl a long look. "However, you are currently just two-years-old, and unlike an adult, your body is already undergoing its fair share of changes. It now has to 'share' the time with the Masu restructuring, feline changes, and ability merging."

Ranma gave the woman a blank stare. "So…" She honestly did not like how it was sounding.

"So if I were to guess, I'd say that it may be about two or three years before it would be safe enough to even attempt any other large changes to your body." Of course, that was only a rough estimate based on the various factors at work.

Almost feeling as if she was going to black out, Ranma fought it off and attempted to stand as straight as she could. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her side as her eyes shut tightly in an effort to prevent tears of frustration from flowing free. "This isn't fair…"

"Perhaps," Katsuhito said as he closed his eyes, "But isn't that a fact of life?" The statement caused the two-year-old to glance up at him. "What matters most is how you handle what is thrown at you. If you spend every moment fussing over the unfairness of it all, then you shall be stuck in a non-escapable rut. However, if you can bend with the flow and handle it as it comes, then you shall be better off for it."

"That sounds kind of neat, old man." The young child said as she stared up at him.

Katsuhito stroked his chin. "You think so? I remember reading it from some horoscope a while back and thinking it was a little on the cheesy side." After hearing a noise, he looked down to see that the child had face faulted. Washu, on the other hand, was attempting to hide her amusement. "Oh, did you trip over your tail?"

Waving her hand as she got back to her feet, Ranma couldn't get over just how lame that turned out. Still, as much as she outright hated to admit it, there was some logic to what was said. Maybe she could at least _**TRY**_ to put up with her cat features until everything was settled enough so that they could be removed. Yeah, she could manage it perfectly! Besides, it wasn't as if she'd ever become attached to _**THAT**_ side of her. There was absolutely no way that she'd allow it to happen.

"I'll try to put up with them until then." Ranma said in a small voice, much to the relief of her two older companions who found themselves worrying about whether or not she would try and pull her ears off again. "Hey," She continued as she looked up at the elderly man, "You're the priest of this shrine, aren't you?"

"That I am, young lady." Katsuhito answered with a nod and a smile. "My name is Masaki Katsuhito, but I don't believe that you've told me your name yet." He already knew the child's name, but he didn't want her to know that.

"Ranma," The cat-girl then blinked. "Wait, did you say Masaki? Does that mean-"

"Yes, I am Tenchi's grandfather?" The man asked as his smile widened slightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ranma, but I must say that your earlier action in trying to pull off your ears almost gave this old man a panic attack."

Ranma nervously toyed around with her ponytail. She didn't mean to freak out the old man earlier, and so she felt bad about it. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright, there was no harm done." The elderly priest answered as he raised a hand. "I do hope that your initial impression of the house doesn't keep you from trying to enjoy your time here."

"Of course it won't!" Washu announced before the younger girl could open her mouth. "She just needs to spend a little more time with everyone, and it won't be long before she feels right at home. Isn't that right, Ranma-chan?" She asked as lightly pinched the girl's cheek.

"That depends on how mad the mad scientist is, Washu-_sensei_." There was extra emphasis placed upon 'sensei' that made it come off as either sarcastic or accusing. "Nowhere is safe when one of those is on the loose." She winced as the pinch increased in pressure.

"See, we're going to get along just fine." Washu released her pinch before grabbing onto the younger girl's arm. "Let's go, Ranma-chan. We need to continue our tour, and we also need to begin your studies as well. I said earlier that this tour would also coincide with a bit of a learning expedition, didn't I?"

"You were serious about that?" Ranma asked as her eyes grew wide. She had assumed that it had only been a ruse to get them alone, but now she realized that it was true. "I'm too young to start learning and stuff!" She tried standing her ground, but found that it was impossible to do with her current two-year-old body. "I wanna just enjoy my childhooooooddddd!"

"You're never too young, Ranma-chan, and you'll have enough time to enjoy your childhood in-between my teachings. Who knows, maybe you'll even start to love it like I do."

"Fat chance!" The younger girl's voice shouted as she was carried out of view.

After watching them leave, Katsuhito allowed a slight shiver to run through his body. The very thought of Ranma turning out similar to Washu was prevalent within his mind. "Be strong-willed, Ranma." He whispered in hopes that it would help the younger of the two redheads.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Tenchi-niichan," Sasami said with a worried look, "Do you think Washu-oneechan and Ranma-chan are alright? They've been gone for a really long time." True to the young princess's statement, it was roughly eight hours since the two redheads had left to give the younger a tour of the area.

Tenchi gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they're okay. Washu-chan did say that she was going to take the time to also teach Ranma-chan."

"Yes, but don't you think that Washu-sama may be going a little overboard?" Ayeka asked with a frown. "Ranma-chan is just a two-year-old girl after all, and Washu-sama does tend to go a little overboard when it comes to subjects like this." She couldn't help but let her mind wander as she imagined the diminutive genius pulling Ranma along via a rope and going on about a multitude of boring things while the child in question was bored to tears and ready to collapse.

"Well, at least Ranma-chan is going to turn out really smart." Mihoshi said happily as she munched on some potato chips.

Ryoko rolled her eyes from her lounging spot up on the rafters. "Pfft, I don't care as long as Washu has a new victim to focus on instead of me or my Tenchi." Of course, that didn't mean that she wasn't feeling a little bit of worry for their newest guest. Washu was definitely an overwhelming force on anybody, let alone a two-year-old child.

"What do you mean _**YOUR**_ Tenchi?" Ayeka asked with a glare towards the rafters as Ryoko's fake tail swished lazily about. "There is absolutely no way-"

Before another argument could start, the sound of the front door opening followed by a couple of voices could be heard. "It's not funny, so stop it." The annoyed voice of a certain two-year-old could be heard.

Washu's voice answered in obvious amusement. "Don't be so embarrassed, Ranma-chan. It's an accident that could happen to anybody. Well, anybody with uncontrollable teleporting and intangibility."

"…So only me, then." Ranma could be heard saying just before the two of them came into view of the other occupants of the house. Her mouth and ears twitched in annoyance when she saw that everyone was staring at her. "I had a little accident, okay?"

'Little' accident was an understatement in the eyes of everyone staring at the two-year-old. Her entire body was soaked and covered from head to toe in mud. In fact, the only part of her that didn't seem to be dirtied was her feet, which was thanks to shoes she had worn. All in all, it almost appeared as if she had jumped head first into a large puddle of mud.

Ryoko couldn't keep her amusement hidden and promptly fell into fits of roaring laughter that would have caused her to fall if it wasn't for her ability to fly. "Y- You're more of a pig than a cat!"

"RYOKO!" Ayeka shouted as she sent another glare to the ex-space pirate. "This is not funny at all." The princess proceeded to turn her attention to Washu. "Washu-sama, how could you just bring her inside without cleaning her up? She's getting mud all over the floor!"

Washu merely shrugged her shoulders. "She's the one who stalked towards the house."

Sasami - with Ryo-Ohki riding on top of her head - quickly ran up to the two-year-old. "How did you get so messy?"

"Myaow-yah?" The cabbit asked.

"I teleported by accident." Ranma answered in a small voice as she scratched her arm and averted her gaze out of embarrassment.

A failed attempt at restraining an amused giggle caused everyone to turn towards Washu. "It was more than just that simple of an incident." She finally said before clearing her throat. "It happened when we were near the carrot fields; without any kind of warning, Ranma-chan teleported from her spot next to me. After a moment of searching, I found her hanging over a tree branch and calling out for help. She was so helpless with a begging look on her face and her ears flattened…" For a moment, everyone thought that the genius would attempt to glomp onto the seething child, but she managed to control herself. "Just before I could help her, she accidentally phased through the branch and headed for a large puddle of mud headfirst. That's when her intangibility reacted again and caused her to fall _**INTO**_ the ground and stop halfway at her waist. She then tried to helplessly wave her legs around while being stuck upside down in the mud. Then she- Ow!" Washu placed her hand over the area of her knee that had been kicked by an angry and embarrassed two-year-old cat-girl.

Said two-year-old cat-girl was currently hiding behind Ayeka and glaring at the genius with a look of childish anger. "It's not funny at all! It was really dark down there, and I couldn't move or hear anything…" Her angry look turned into one of fear as her ears flattened upon her head and her body let out a shiver.

Washu couldn't help but wince at both the look and what was said. She had no idea that the situation was really that terrifying for Ranma since she didn't voice it at the time. "Sorry about that, Ranma-chan." Something was telling her that she inadvertently gave the child an obscenely powerful weapon. One day, once she manages to control her cat features, the child would likely become an incredible force to be reckoned with.

"Come with me to get cleaned up, Ranma-chan." Ayeka said as she grabbed onto the cat-girl's hand, and immediately grimaced at the feeling of mud. "It just isn't proper for a young girl to be covered in so much mud and leave it be."

A frown appeared on Ranma's muddy face as she looked up at the purple-haired princess. "I can clean myself; I don't need any help."

"Nonsense," The princess answered, "You're only two-years-old, and you probably won't wash yourself off properly enough. With as much dirt as there is on you, you can't afford to do such an inadequate job."

"I'll show you 'only two-years-old!'" Ranma said between clenched teeth. This was definitely one thing that she hated about being a child. "Hey, why are we going outside?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is… amazing." It was the only thing that Ranma could manage to say. The place she found herself in looked almost like some kind of tropical forest bathhouse. From what she could tell, the various flora and rock formations were completely real, and it was beyond amazing that there were even small mini-waterfalls. Hot water could be seen flowing from one part to the next. She could only guess that it was designed in a way for water to also loop back to a starting point, because if it weren't for that, then the water should stop flowing.

And that didn't even begin to describe her thoughts on the large dome that allowed one to see outside, nor her initial reaction on seeing the place rise up from the lake.

"Ranma-chan," Ayeka called from her spot over near one of the mini-waterfalls with a bucket of bathing supplies sitting next to her, "You won't get cleaned up if you don't hurry up and get over here!" She had to stifle a giggle at seeing the young redhead crouched upon a rock like a cat as her tail swished behind her and ears twitching in interest.

"Hey, hey," Ranma shouted as she leapt off of her perch. She hit the ground on her hands followed by her feet. Hopping into an upright position, she ran over to the purple-haired woman. "What is this place? How did it get here? Who did it? How come- erk!" She stopped short in her question once she fully registered Ayeka's current state of undress. She attempted to turn around, but tripped over her tail in the process and fell onto her back. "Owie…"

Ayeka appeared above the two-year-old with a concerned look. "Are you okay, Ranma-chan? That looked like a dreadful fall." She blinked as she watched the child cover her eyes. "Ranma-chan?"

"I'm okay!" The cat-girl said as she continued to cover her eyes. Even after two years as she currently was, Ranma still had some unease when it came to situations like this. It felt even more embarrassing whenever her mother decided to bathe along with her. Having to be bathed by someone else was embarrassing enough. "I just fell over my tail."

"You should be more careful then." Ayeka proceeded to help the two-year-old out of her muddied clothing. "As for the questions you asked, this place was created by Ryoko-san about four months ago." After she finished undressing the young redhead and removing her hair tie, Ayeka filled up a basin with water and poured it over the child.

"Ryoko made it?" Ranma asked in disbelief as she felt shampoo on her head. Just thinking about the woman still caused her to flinch, but to hear that she was actually able to make something like this was impressive. "That's awesome."

The purple-haired princess gave a small humph in response. "Well, I will admit that Ryoko-san is talented in being able to create spectacular things such as this, but her more brutish qualities outweigh her good ones by a fair margin." Placing some more shampoo onto her hand, she proceeded to work a little on the younger girl's tail. "Still, while she is a monster woman, I don't think you should fear or try to distance yourself from her. She honestly feels bad about what she did earlier, and while I said her negative traits _**DO**_ outweigh her positive, she is still a great person to get to know." Ayeka leaned in close to the child's ear. "I ask you to please not tell her what I just told you. If she learns of what I said, she will never let me hear the end of it and taunt me till the end."

Ranma couldn't help but blink. "Err… okay." She said. "Why do you call her a monster woman and all that then?"

"There are a lot of reasons." Ayeka didn't feel like getting into a long-winded history lesson of what the ex-space pirate did in the past. "More importantly, she's trying to steal my Tenchi."

"Huh?" The young child asked as she glanced up and gave the woman an incredulous look. 'This sounds so familiar…' She thought as she remembered her own fiancée troubles.

"Tenchi-sama and I are destined to be. Both he and I are of royal blood, while Ryoko is an uncouth barbarian and a one time fugitive of justice who would rather solve things with brutish violence than peaceful negotiation. She hangs over Tenchi-sama like some savage animal with no account for his personal space. It's inevitable that Tenchi-sama would choose me over her."

"Oh yeah, princess?" Ryoko asked in a small voice as she appeared behind the woman. "I don't think a rigid little girl like you has what it takes to satisfy him."

As soon as Ranma caught sight of the cyan-haired woman, she quickly gave off an 'eep' and scooted back as fast as she could. "H- Hi, Ryoko." She berated herself for being afraid. She didn't want to be, but it seemed as if her body and mind said otherwise. Her eye twitched when the cyan-haired woman vanished and reappeared behind her before pulling her close.

"C'mon pipsqueak, if you stay near Ayeka too much, she's liable to rub off on you. If you're gonna be using abilities like mine, you need to have a much better role model." Ryoko flashed the other woman an infuriating smirk. "I can teach you much more useful things than that stick in the mud could."

Ayeka instantly jumped to her feet. "You'll just turn her into some galaxy-class criminal!"

"Criminal? Oh my!" Mihoshi announced in shock from her spot behind Ryoko.

Ryoko turned around quickly. "When did you-"

"We can't allow an impressionable and cute young girl to fall onto the path of a criminal!" The blonde reached out, snatched the small cat-girl, and pulled her close. "I'll help you to grow and become a respectable member of society, and maybe show her the wonders of the Galaxy Police!" She had an oddly serious expression as she held the young redhead close. Said redhead's hands twitched violently at her side as her face was pressed between Mihoshi's breasts.

'A fate worse than death!' Both Ayeka and Ryoko thought as the idea of Ranma being stuck with the ditz ran through their heads. They even imagined the redhead taking after her. 'Can't let her take after Mihoshi or Washu.' The two proceeded to glance at each other. 'Or her!'

"Come here, Ranma-chan. You still need to get cleaned." Ayeka said as she took the thoroughly embarrassed two-year-old from Mihoshi and went to get some soap. It only took a moment for her to notice that the girl wasn't with her anymore.

Ryoko rolled her eyes as she sat cross-legged a few inches from the ground while holding onto Ranma in her lap. "Pfft, if she does it, we'll be here all day!"

"Ryoko! I was the one who volunteered to clean her while you were laughing at her misfortune!" Without missing a beat, Ayeka snatched the two-year-old and held her close. "So you can just go away."

Ranma couldn't help but feel an odd mixture of embarrassment and dizziness as she was pulled back and forth between the two - with an occasional attempt from Mihoshi. It was as if she were some kind of plush toy that three children were fighting over. Her world turned into one of agony, however, due to Ayeka grabbing onto her tail and giving a hard yank. Her scream of pain shocked the women enough so that they accidentally dropped her.

"O- Oh dear, I'm so sorry Ranma-chan." The purple-haired princess apologized to the small cat-girl as she held her hands to the base of her tail while tears streamed from her eyes. "I didn't mean to-"

"Good job, Ayeka, you just showed how stupid you are when it comes to tails." Ryoko said with a glare. "This is why a spoiled and pampered princess like you isn't ready for reality."

Ayeka met her with a glare of her own as Mihoshi attempted to figure out what to do. "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to but in where you weren't needed!"

Both women were stopped from going any further by a pair of heavy buckets that crashed down onto them. Turning their heads, they both saw a highly unamused Washu accompanied by a worried Sasami and Ryo-Ohki. "Now really, don't you think that you two should be ashamed of yourselves? You have a young child lying on the floor in pain due to the both of you getting into an argument over who will bathe her and become a 'role model.'"

Both Sasami and Ryo-Ohki ran over to the younger redhead as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Are you alright, Ranma-chan?" She asked as she watched her continue to rub the spot around the base of her tail.

"Why did that hurt so much?" Ranma asked with a wince. Also, why did her back hurt?

Washu kneeled down next to the two-year-old. "It's because your tail is connected to your spine, and so if it is pulled, there's a chance that it could affect the nerves and hurt your back." The diminutive genius reached her hand out and poked at the spot right at the base of the tail. "Your tail also has a plethora of its own nerves with this spot being the most sensitive. Depending on the situation and intentions, having your tail grabbed could range from intense pain to a tickling or calming feeling. To an even farther degree, certain areas of your tail could even give you a slight feeling of pleasure."

A loud 'eep' was heard from the cat-girl as she quickly turned and hid her tail from view. She definitely did not like the sound of it, and couldn't help but feel a newfound hatred for the swishy appendage. If what Washu said was the truth, then there was no way that Ranma would let anyone touch the thing… ever. Heaven help whoever even _**TRIED**_ to lay a finger on it.

"Ranma-chan," Sasami began with a sad look, "I'm sorry that Ayeka-oneechan and Ryoko-oneechan were being so mean and hurt you. Is it okay if I help you get the rest of the dirt off of you? I promise that I won't hurt you."

"Myah-mya myaow!" Ryo-Ohki added with her own apologetic look.

Ranma wanted to refuse, but as she glanced into the sad and hopeful eyes of both the younger princess and cabbit, she found her resolve slipping. "A- Alright," She said as she glanced down, "But you better leave my tail alone, got it?" Unlike everyone else in the house, she felt like she could trust the blue-haired girl. Maybe it was because she met her first, and was just a polite and kind child.

"I promise." Sasami answered happily along with the cabbit next to her as she led the two-year-old back over to the mini-waterfall.

While Ranma was being cleaned, she couldn't help but stare at the falling water ahead of her while she became lost in her thoughts. As she sat there, a phrase that she had quickly forgotten upon waking up from her dream floated through her head. 'I just need to want to do it…' She thought as she decided to test the theory by holding her hand with her palm upwards. With a little concentration, she imagined water floating into her hand, and to her shock and all, a small stream of water flowed from the waterfall and into her hand where it hovered as a sphere of water.

As she jumped to her feet, the concentration she had on the ball of liquid vanished and fell to the ground. Ignoring the worried looks and questions coming from the girls around her, Ranma stepped back a few feet before extending her arm towards the waterfall with her palm facing upward. Concentrating, she willed the water to come to her, and to everyone's shock, a steady stream of water flowed over to the two-year-old until she was holding a sphere that was about the size of a bowling ball.

Almost as if she were in a trance, Ranma raised her other hand and willed the liquid to move into that one. Sure enough, the water did stream over to her other hand and hover in its newest spot. With childish amazement evident upon her features, the cat-girl closed her eyes and made the liquid snake around her arm before levitating into the air and bursting and falling down to the floor around her. As she stood there, Ranma could almost feel a certain level of energy connected to the water. Wondering if this meant that she could grab hold of it by just feeling it out, the two-year-old concentrated a little more and pulled the water from the floor and reformed it into a sphere between her hands before firing it off at a nearby rock.

"Wow…" She said before collapsing to her knees in exhaustion. It was exciting to be able to manipulate the water like that, but it left her weak and tired for some reason. However, now that she had succeeded in making a kind of 'connection' to the water, Ranma had to wonder if she could do the same for other things. Maybe she'd try it again later when she didn't feel as tired.

Her thoughts were broken as Sasami quickly appeared next to her and voiced the questions that everyone else seemed to be wondering. Washu, however, was calmly stroking her chin as her mind went into a kind of excited overdrive over just how interesting the girl was.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sorcery, huh?" Ranma mumbled to herself as she stared at her hands. After leaving the floating bathhouse, Washu had taken her aside and gave her an explanation of what she suspected the two-year-old managed to do. Apparently, the secondary type of energy that she held within her - the genius called it mana, - could be molded so that it could perform a large variety of abilities. The cat-girl had managed to collect the water and manipulate it via a connection she formed that allowed her to feel out the water molecules and 'attract' them to her while bending it to her will. At least, that was the likely explanation that Washu had given her. The genius mentioned something about doing some research with her providing examples of her ability to use mana.

What really interested her was the prospect of learning to be able to do a lot more with this mana energy. After two years of trying, she was finally able to use it correctly, but just like her ki, using too much mana tired her out. She wouldn't let that stop her, however, and would continue to test it out and figure the extent of what she was able to do.

"Ranma-chan." Ranma turned her head to see Ayeka standing next to the chair. The purple-haired princess had attempted to apologize profusely for the accidental pulling of her tail, but the cat-girl was still a little wary and made sure to keep the appendage out of sight. "I think we should discuss your sleeping arrangement."

"What about it?"

"Well, currently you have a futon sitting in Tenchi-sama's room, because Washu-sama felt that it was the best location to let you sleep." The genius had also said that Tenchi seemed like the most responsible, but Ayeka didn't understand why that was said. "However, I think it would be best if you switched rooms and stayed with either Sasami-chan or me."

Ranma blinked for a moment. "What's wrong with Tenchi's room?"

"It just wouldn't be proper." Ayeka answered with a shake of her head. "Tenchi-sama is honorable and kind, yes, but a teenaged boy's room is no place for a young girl to stay. Ryoko-san tends to sleep in the rafters, Mihoshi-san's room is a mess, and I feel that you are just too young to sleep in a room by yourself in a house that's so unknown to you."

"I'll pass." The two-year-old said as she jumped off of the chair. She didn't really see the problem with staying where she was, but the talk about 'proper' and 'young girl' filled her with a feeling of annoyance. Still, the idea of getting a room to herself instead of having to share it was a nice one. "There's an extra room I could use, right?"

"Well, yes, but I don't think you should be by yourself."

Ranma waved her hand dismissively as she decided to go and get her futon. "I sleep in my own room at home, so I'll be okay." Before she could hear anymore rebuttal from Ayeka, the cat-girl found that she had accidentally teleported… again.

This time, though, she noted that she was hovering upside-down in the air above Tenchi as he was organizing some items in a drawer. The cat-girl quickly noticed that her ability to float had died, and so she was falling towards the teen. "H- Hey, watch out!" The warning came too late, however, as Ranma's head crashed into the top of Tenchi's. As the teen clutched the top of his head, the small redhead continued her fall and landed painfully on her ass. Despite landing on her underside, it was her head that was in pain the most. "Eeow!"

"R- Ranma?" Tenchi asked as he winced at the feeling of the bump upon his head. It seemed as if he would have to worry about yet another person in the house who could teleport, but this one was just a two-year-old who didn't have control. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry about that." Ranma said as she felt her own bump on the top of her head while a few stray tears managed to escape from her eyes. "I was coming to get my futon, but then I ended up teleporting." As soon as she got to her feet, the two-year-old caught sight of a strange tanish object on the ground that resembled a sword hilt of some kind. "Hey, what's this?" She asked as she walked over to it. The hilt had two red gems stuck in it with something that looked as if there was space for a third.

"It's the Tenchi-ken." Touching his head again, Tenchi made another wince. "I dropped it when you fell on my head."

The cat-girl's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment "Err- Sorry." Feeling curious about the object, Ranma reached out to pick it up. Right as her hand wrapped around it, she was attacked by a powerful electric shock that caused her to scream out in intense pain.

"Oh shit!" Tenchi yelled out in panic as he ran over to the child and yanked the hilt out of her hand. As soon as it left her hand, the electric shock stopped. "Are you okay?" The teen asked in worry as he kneeled in front of the child as she clutched her arm to her chest. "If I had known that it would have done that to you, I would have stopped you from picking it up."

Ranma tried as hard as she could to fight off the tears as she held onto her arm. "I can't feel my arm…" She said with worry. "Why can't I feel it?"

Tenchi panicked as he attempted to figure out something to say or do, but before he could get to it, the door to his room burst open. "What happened to Ranma-chan?" Sasami asked with worry in her eyes. "We heard her scream and-"

"I dropped the Tenchi-ken. Ranma tried to pick it up, but it shocked her, and now she can't feel her arm!" The raven-haired teen answered quickly as he motioned between the sword hilt and the obviously frightened two-year-old.

Washu made her way over to the younger redhead and called forth her laptop. "Let me handle this." She proceeded to run a few scans of the child's body to check and see if there was anything serious to worry about. "It seems as if the intense shock from the Tenchi-ken has fried almost all of the nerves within her arm and a few others throughout her body. However, she is slowly starting to heal thanks to her Masu structure." The information caused Tenchi to let out a deep breath and fall onto his bed. "It will likely take all night until your arm is back to normal, though, and it would be a good idea to keep it in a sling." After punching a few keys on her laptop, a medical sling appeared from a small subspace portal. Washu grabbed it and placed it on the two-year-old. "Just try not to move it too much and you should be fine."

"Thanks…" Ranma let out softly as her other hand clenched at her side. "But why did it shock me?"

"I have a theory about that." Washu said as she held her hand to her chin. "I think it's because your body may have tried to assimilate the gems on the hilt. Your Masu genes may have decided that since they are powerful, they would be a good source to obtain. Because of this, the Tenchi-ken activated its self defense mechanism and attacked the apparent threat."

'Stupid Masu…' The cat-girl thought as she ignored Ryoko go on about they were her gems or something.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the end, Ranma did have to - reluctantly - choose which person's room she would share with, because it was figured that she needed help, it would be better to have someone else near her. When she was given the choice, Ranma decided that the best one would be with Sasami. Unlike everyone else, the cat-girl had no bad experiences with the older girl, and it may have also had something to do with the fact that she - like her - was a kid as well. An older one, yes, but she was still a child.

Of course, she would have preferred to be able to sleep in a futon than in the same bed as the blue-haired girl. It was just awkward to sleep with someone else. Well, two others if you counted Ryo-Ohki who also slept in the bed.

"Ranma-chan," The cat-girl turned her head to look at Sasami. The older girl had her arms wrapped around the cabbit as she was turned on her side. "Are you okay? You've been having a bad time since you got here."

Ranma gave her a fake smile. "I'm fine. It wasn't that bad."

"I'm sure it'll get better for you." Sasami said with her own _**REAL**_ smile. "The first steps are always the hardest, right? So if you keep at it, it'll get better. You'll see."

"Yeah…" Ranma said as she watched the older girl close her eyes. As she laid there, the two-year-old's thoughts slowly changed to wondering about her mother, and just how she was doing. 'I hope mum is okay.' A large portion of her wanted to go back home, jump into her mother's arms, and never leave her again. A smaller part of her worried about what she would think about her new cat features, and whether or not she would think of her as some kind of freak or not. 'There's no way she could think that, right?' She asked herself. Since she couldn't get an answer for that, Ranma pulled the blanket close and reluctantly closed her eyes. 'Stupid cat ears and tail.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later, Ranma found herself in Washu's lab for the second time. This time, though, she was in the main entry area instead of the darkened medical room. Her previous thought about the doorway leading to a flight of stairs going down was way off track. It merely lead to an area that was completely dark for about a second before another door appeared leading to an incredibly huge place that couldn't possibly exist where it was.

"How big is this place, Washu… sensei?" She remembered to call the older redhead that after recalling the conversation they had a couple days ago. "And just how can you fit this in the house?"

"My lab's size is the equivalent to five planets worth of space." Seeing the flabbergasted expression on the two-year-old's face filled her with an incredible amount of amusement. Oh how she was going to love teaching the girl. "As for how I fit this in the house… I didn't. We aren't in the house anymore, and you could say that we aren't even on Earth. This place resides in a large subspace pocket that is connected to the Masaki house on Earth via the doorway you just entered through. You can think of it as a secondary layer that doesn't exist within the house or on Earth, but is still part of the plane that you live on. Were you able to follow?"

"Uh…" Ranma let out as she scratched the base of her ponytail. "Is it kinda like if you take a cake and place another layer on it? You still have the cake, and the new layer is part of it, but is of a different area of its own?" The cat-girl suddenly found herself pulled into a crushing hug.

"You're a genius in the making!" Washu announced joyously. "It's a lot more complex than that, but you managed to come up with a working metaphor that allowed you to understand it." She was definitely curious as to just how far she could take the girl's mind. It'd be her greatest project to ever take on.

After the genius let go of her, Ranma wobbled for a moment before shaking her head to clear the dizziness. 'Note to self: Intelligence makes her crazier.'

"Sit down on one of the cushions, Ranma-chan."

Giving a nod, the cat-girl made herself comfortable on the cushion sitting on the floor. She was surprised when said cushion rose up about a foot into the air and hovered in its spot. "Hey- What?" Focusing her attention onto Washu, she saw that the woman was calmly sitting on a floating cushion of her own. "You could have warned me…"

"But I wanted to see your reaction." Washu said with a pout. "Is it a crime for a teacher to want to see the startled reaction of her cute little student?"

'This is some kind of punishment for my past life, isn't it?' Ranma asked herself in annoyance.

"You're probably wondering why I dragged you in here, right?" At the younger redhead's nod, Washu brought out her laptop and typed a few keys. In front of Ranma on another cushion materialized several thick books. "I brought you here so that we could begin your lessons. The books you see before you are for some of your first subjects that we'll be going over. I've already also gone over and created a schedule for us to go by." With the press of a button on her laptop, a holo-screen appeared before Ranma and displayed the schedule to her.

_Ranma-chan's Educational Schedule_

_Mon - Fri_

_6:30AM - 8AM: Mathematics_

_8AM - 9AM: Languages and Linguistics_

_9AM - 10AM: History and Culture_

_11AM - 2PM: Free time_

_2PM - 5PM: Health and Psychology sciences_

_5PM - 7PM: Geography and Astronomy_

_Saturdays_

_7AM - 9AM: Mathematics_

_9AM - 11AM: Agricultural/Nature Sciences_

_11AM - Noon: History and Culture_

_Sundays_

_Free day_

Ranma stared in disbelief at the schedule for several minutes. "A- Are you serious?" She asked. She already knew the answer, and so it was silly to question it.

"Of course," Washu answered as she removed the holo-screen. "I think it's a fair schedule, and since it'll most likely be a few years before you can start training in your martial arts again, you'll have a lot of time on your hands. Why not do something with it so you don't end up getting bored? Besides, this schedule still gives you time to have to yourself. We're starting off at the lowest tier of each subject, and when I feel that you have enough of a grasp on it, we'll up it to the next tier and keep going and going. If you give it everything you got, I'm sure that you'll learn to appreciate it."

'I doubt it…' Ranma thought in annoyance. Still, it wasn't as if the schedule was overwhelming, and she did get enough time to herself when not working on the lessons. Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.

"Oh, and Ranma-chan, there was another reason why I called you into my lab." With another press of the button, another object materialized into view on top of the text books.

Ranma blinked as her ears and tail twitched in curiosity. "An egg?" She asked as she held up the incubator-like contraption that held within it a rather large egg. For some reason, it felt as if they were connected in some way.

"It's your partner."

"Eh- What- Partner?"

"Similar to how Ryo-Ohki is to Ryoko. What you have there is an egg from whence a cabbit like Ryo-Ohki will be born."

"My very own Ryo-Ohki?" Ranma asked as she continued to hold the incubator. She could feel strong emotions being sent from within the egg to her, and there was a strong feeling of warmth that seemed to envelop her. "But why?"

"Well, she won't _**BE**_ Ryo-Ohki, but it will be a creature similar to her. I went and based her design on Ryo-Ohki, but I also used some of your own DNA that I gathered while you were resting from your reconstruction. If anything, it'll be as if it were your own child."

Ranma nearly fumbled the incubator. "M- My own child?" She asked with a sweat.

"As for why I decided to give you a partner," Washu hopped off of her cushion and made her way over to the smaller redhead, "I felt as if I could trust you to take proper care of something that would be a huge responsibility. I told myself that I would never create another Ryo-Ohki, because of how powerful and destructive it could be if put in the wrong hands, but I think that having your own partner will allow you to grow and learn in ways that I can't teach you." The genius gave the incubator a small pat. "However, as a precaution, I haven't installed the ability to transform into a spaceship yet. The reason for this is because of just how young you and your partner are. Being in the possession of a powerful ship is sure to bring the both of you into danger of getting lost in space and/or causing accidental destruction. Once I've found that things are safe enough, I'll update her with the ability to become a spaceship."

Nodding slowly as she stared at the egg, Ranma found herself not caring that she wouldn't be able to have a space ship at that moment. All she cared about was the creature inside the egg that was calling to her via emotions and mental images.

Washu happily clapped her hands together. "Well, how about we start on your studies? We won't be able to get too much done today, but it'll be best if you start learning immediately."

"Eeeeehhhh?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes:

And so the studying under Washu begins!


	5. A Little Shopping

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to Lawra and the people of Fukufics for pre-reading and helping.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 5

In a dimly lit and small bar, a redheaded girl was calmly sitting at a small table and using a spoon to stir together the contents within a cup that sat before her. She was around 11-years-old and possessed a pair of heterochromatic eyes that were half blue and half red. Her outfit consisted of a red short-sleeved T-shirt with a white long-sleeved undershirt. She also wore a pair of black pants and some slip-on black shoes. Her hair was tied off in a ponytail that reached down to just above her mid back, and on top of her head was black fleece-knit cap. On each side of the headwear was a hole that allowed a pair of crimson-colored cat ears to poke out. They would often twitch to the noise around her, and other patrons to the bar would stare and wonder if they were real or just magical. Jutting out from a specially made hole in the back of the girl's pants was a long furry tail that was of the same shade as her ears and hair. It swished lazily behind her and would often be the subject of curious looks.

The redhead stopped in her stirring and pulled out the spoon. Lifting up the cup to her lips, Ranma gave a sip before setting it back down. She had an incredible fondness for milk, and also liked it mixed with various other things such as tea or - on small occasions - chocolate. Of course, the most likely reason for her love of the dairy product probably had to do with her feline disposition along with her taste buds.

Sitting not too far from Ranma's cup was a small plate of sliced carrots, and on the other side of the plate was a small, long-eared rabbit-like creature. The color of its fur was a light brown with the tip of its paws being white, and its eyes were a vivid crimson. On its forehead was a small red gem, and around its neck was a small, black collar. "Where are we going first, momma?" The creature asked after finishing a carrot slice.

"Flourish & Blotts to get the books I need," Ranma answered as she pulled out the list of supplies for her first year of Hogwarts. "I need to stop by Gringotts first, though." She already had some wizarding currency with her that she held onto instead storing in the bank, but she didn't think it would be enough for all of her supplies. She also had some yen on her, but she'd need to take it and convert it into wizard currency. "We'll go when you get finished with your carrots, Lai."

Giving a nod, the cabbit went back to eating the carrot slices on her plate. Laira was the cabbit that was born from the egg that Washu had given the cat-girl nine years ago. What had managed to shock everyone in the Masaki home at the time was that immediately after Laira hatched, she was able to talk. In fact, the first word out of the newborn cabbit's mouth to Ranma was 'mama.' Needless-to-say, the young redhead wasn't too thrilled with being referred to as such at first, but it didn't take long before Laira managed to worm her way into Ranma's heart.

Even though - to the cat-girl - it felt weird, awkward, and embarrassing to be referred to as a 'mom', and to have been reminded of her current gender, she was never able to get the cabbit to stop calling her that. Every time Ranma tried, Laira would look at her with a saddened puppy-dog eyes look and ask if she didn't like her enough. Ranma's discomfort gradually waned thanks to the growing bond the two shared, and before she realized it, she grew comfortable with Laira referring to her as such.

Washu never could figure out just why the cabbit was able to talk so soon after birth, but theorized that the result could have came about due to some form of reaction to Ranma's mana that may have allowed for Laira's vocal cords to rearrange themselves and mature into a way that allowed her to speak properly, as well as help to get over the whole 'cat' issue easier. It was only a theory, but it was the best one that they had at the time.

Because they had a bonded connection with each other, Ranma and Laira were able to communicate telepathically and have long conversations without ever having to say anything verbally. Sharing information between them was also simple, and only required the action of placing their foreheads together to transfer it. This was especially handy for when they had to relay important images and knowledge between them that was stored in memory.

Ranma's ears twitched at the sound of the entrance door opening, and she glanced up to see a huge man step on into the bar. If she had to guess, Ranma would have said that the man must have been at least 12 feet tall. His long black hair and thick beard hid most of his facial features from view, and the long coat also prevented one from seeing just how large he probably was. She could tell, however, that the man's hands were huge and could probably cover garbage can lids.

Next to the man was a small and scraggly looking boy with short and messy raven-black hair and large glasses that needed small bits of tape to stay together. His clothes seemed to be a few sizes to big for him and were considerably wrinkled. It was obvious by the awed and nervous look on his face that the boy had never been to the place before, and it was equally possible that he was new to the wizarding world.

As the two walked past her table, Ranma could feel the boy's eyes as he stared at her ears, and she caught him giving a small glance to her swishing tail. When he noticed that she knew he was staring, the boy quickly turned his head and followed the giant of a man towards the barkeep. Adjusting her ears, the cat-girl focused on the two newcomers to hear what they had to say.

"Mornin', Hagrid," She heard Tom, the barkeep, say, "Here for the usual?" The large man - Hagrid if she heard right - declined the invitation and claimed something about being on Hogwarts business. A startled gasp from balding man caused the cat-girl to turn her head slightly. "Good lord, is this- can this be-"

'Quit stuttering and spit it out.' Ranma thought in both annoyance and curiosity. Just who could it be that could give the old man such a shock? She also noticed that the other people in the bar were also wondering what happened.

"Bless my soul," Tom finally said, "Harry Potter… what an honor."

Ranma couldn't help but blink before turning around and resting her arm on the back of the chair. 'He's Harry Potter?' The cat-girl asked herself with a raised eyebrow. 'Didn't think he'd be so ragged and homely-looking.' It was kind of funny to watch the boy be accosted by so many people wanting to shake his hand or talk to him, and so she decided to continue drinking her milk and tea while watching on in amusement. 'Wonder what's so special about him.' She thought as she wondered just how he could have overpowered Voldemort as an infant.

'He probably wouldn't even know, momma.' Laira answered as she finished her last carrot slice and hopped onto the cat-girl's shoulder. 'Not everybody is able to remember from when they were a baby.'

'Still, it couldn't hurt to see if I could find out anything.' Ranma said as she set her cup down on the table. Watching as some man introduced himself to Harry as being the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, the cat-girl couldn't help but feel distrustful of him for some reason. It was as if something was setting her instincts at unease, but she didn't know why.

Harry was eventually saved from his predicament by Hagrid, and the large man began to guide the small boy away from bar and towards the back. Realizing that they were probably headed for Diagon Alley, Ranma quickly scooped Laira up and placed the cabbit on her shoulder. After making sure her pseudo-daughter was safe, the cat-girl quickly vanished.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry found himself to be significantly overwhelmed by everything that he had experienced in less than a day's time. He was still trying to get used to the knowledge that witches and wizards actually existed, and that his own parents were ones before they were killed by another wizard, and not from a car crash that his aunt and uncle have always told him. It seemed like almost too much of a world altering thing to take in such a short amount of time.

It seemed even weirder to have a bunch of complete strangers who seemed to both like and worship him for something he had absolutely no memory of. It was better than being ignored and thought of as a plague of sorts, but it just felt embarrassing for people to act that way around him. It was uncomfortable to have everyone in the bar crowding around him in an effort to shake his hand. Well, everyone except for that girl who almost seemed to have cat ears and a tail. She never tried to join in to try and shake his hand, but she did watch him from her seat with a look of silent amusement.

"Anythin' wrong, Harry?" Hagrid asked as he pulled out his umbrella to use on the brick wall. "You seem ter be rather silent."

"I'm fine." Harry lied with a smile.

"So you're Harry Potter?" A female voice asked. The boy and half-giant turned their heads to see who spoke, but they couldn't find anybody. "Look up."

Slightly confused, Harry tilted his head upward to see the same redheaded girl from before sitting cross-legged on top of Hagrid's head. She acted as if there was nothing wrong with just where she was, and she even managed to stay there as the hairy half-giant tilted his own head upward. All the girl did was lean forward, give a smile, and wave lazily to the man.

The strange redhead also had a small rabbit-like creature sitting comfortably on her shoulder, but the thing that really caught Harry's eye was the crimson tail swaying behind her. He had assumed in the bar that both the ears and tail were merely accessories, but it was obvious that they were real… or - in the very least - magical items.

Hagrid was the first to speak after being surprised. "When and how did yeh get up onter my head?" He never would have known she was up there if she hadn't gave herself away, and for some reason, it felt as if she didn't weigh a thing.

"Right after you exited the Leaky Cauldron." Ranma answered with a small yawn. She was present when the huge man told the bespectacled boy about that man named Quirrel, and she had to wonder if the cowardly man actually had what it takes to teach a defense class. Still, there was something about him that had her senses scream 'dangerous.'

"As for the how…" The cat-girl suddenly vanished from view before instantly appearing next to Harry. "It's a special ability of mine." Ranma flashed the startled boy a grin as she held out a hand. "The name's Lina." She would have given her last name, but she didn't want to be bothered with the possible reactions that could come about if either of them knew of the Malfoy family. People who knew either tried to kiss up, feel nervous, and/or show disgust. It all depended on how the individual viewed her family.

Harry, getting over his shock of suddenly having someone disappear and reappear next to him, returned the handshake. "Harry Potter…" Of course, the girl already knew that, but he was in a kind of daze. As he observed the girl in front of him, Harry noticed that she was about the same height as him, if a tiny bit shorter, but the odd thing - other than her feline appendages - was her dual-colored eyes that seemed almost unnatural. "Um- Are those real?" He asked as he stared at the crimson-colored ears poking through the girl's hat.

"They were when I last checked." The redhead answered while twitching them in response. Her tail also appeared into view from behind. "Got caught in a magic accident when I was younger, and I liked them so much that I wanted to keep them." In actuality, she hated the things at first, but when it came time to where it was safe for Washu to make changes that could remove her feline features, she found that she honestly couldn't part with them due to having grown fond and comfortable with the things.

"Just now," Hagrid began with a wide-eyed look, "You were able to apparate, weren't yeh?" There wasn't a sound that usually happened during apparition, but that didn't matter.

"Something like that." Ranma answered as she glanced up at the half-giant. She knew what apparition was, and so it was a good cover to use so that she didn't end up revealing anything she shouldn't. Sure, there was the little issue of apparition being against the law for those who were under 17 and never took the test to obtain a license, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

"I'm impressed!" The half-giant announced as he gave the cat-girl a pat on the back. There was a little too much force behind the pat and caused her to stumble forward a bit. "To be able ter apparate at such a young age is quite an achievement. You're not even in yer first year of Hogwarts, are yeh?" He would have remembered someone like her if she was already a student.

"I start this year." The redhead said as she placed her arms behind her head. Truthfully, she didn't like the idea of having to be cooped up in a school all year round, and she would have preferred to keep her freedom so that she could continue with her studies under Washu. The older redhead was also able to provide her with the best equipment to use for training in both her martial arts and magic.

Washu, though, thought that going to Hogwarts would be a good idea, because she was curious as to what a school devoted to teaching kids about magic would be like, and so having the cat-girl go would provide a good way to perform some research. Ranma was rather curious to find out as well, and she figured that it would allow her to learn a little more about magic in the process. There was also her small desire to try and become an Auror. She had heard the word once and was curious about it. After reading some information regarding the job of an Auror, Ranma was interested in the idea and thought it would be an exciting career choice.

"What's that on your shoulder?" Hagrid asked once he finally noticed Laira. "I've never seen a creature like it."

The cabbit gave a wide smile. "I'm Laira!"

"It talks?" Harry asked in shock. Hagrid was also amazed that the cabbit had the ability for human speech.

Laira visibly pouted. "I'm not an it." She turned her head to look at the redhead. "Am I, momma?"

"Of course not." Ranma answered with a roll of her eyes. She then noticed the continued looks. "I hatched her from an egg, and so she sees me as her mother. Don't ask where you can find one like her, because I only know of two others besides Laira."

Hagrid gave the girl another powerful pat on the back. "So you like animals, eh?" He had a large smile on his lips as his eyes twinkled. "Yeh know, I always wanted a dragon; hatch it from an egg and have it think of me as its parent. Such a thing would be great, but it's almost impossible ter get a dragon egg due to laws."

Ranma reached out to Laira through their mental link as the half-giant went on about his love of animals. 'I think you should stay close to me, Lai. This guy's liable to just try and run off with you.'

'Yeah, I think you're right, momma.' The cabbit answered as she inched closer to the side of the cat-girl's head.

As soon as the brick wall moved out from in front of them to give way to Diagon Alley, Ranma followed alongside the duo and had trouble hiding her amusement at Harry's reactions as the boy's head flew every which direction to take in the sights of the various magical shops and people that made up the area. "You know, you're going to snap your neck if you keep that up."

"S- Sorry," Harry said with slight embarrassment, "It's just that I only learned last night that magic actually exists." It was just so overwhelming, and he couldn't help but feel completely lost in it all. "I just don't know what to expect."

Ranma gave a lazy shrug. "Then expect the unexpected."

"Huh?"

"Expect the unexpected." Ranma repeated.

"But what do you-"

"Ah, here we are." Hagrid announced as they arrived at a large snowy white building. "Gringotts. C'mon, Harry, here's where we get your money to buy your supplies."

Ranma silently thanked the large man for the interruption. She honestly didn't want to have to bother with explaining what she meant to the boy and figured that it was simple enough to understand. 'I think I'll take a nice long nap when we get back home.' She gave off a small yawn as her tail curled behind her.

Laira rolled her eyes. 'You're always taking naps, momma.'

'You're one to talk.' Ranma said as they entered the building. 'Who's the one who always joins me when I take those naps?' Glancing around, the redhead noted that as usual, the inside of Gringotts was the same. The huge marble hall consisted entirely of counters lining the side of the walkway with goblins hard at work with counting and exchanging money. Chandeliers on the ceiling gave off a dull light that didn't seem to do that much good in brightening the place up.

Making her way over to a random counter, the cat-girl greeted the goblin stationed at it before quickly pulling out some yen to have him convert into wizarding currency. The yen that Ranma possessed was thanks to helping Washu when she was younger. On occasion, the older redhead would set up a stall in the business district of the Galaxy Academy so as to sell a bunch of Earth-based knick-knacks, dolls, and stuffed toys.

Washu would always drag Ranma with her so as to make use of her ability to attract possible customers, because just how many people could resist the charm of a really young and adorable cat-girl flashing them bright and large eyes. Washu even had her dress up in various adorable outfits and use props such as plush toys and lollipops to complete the act. Needless-to-say, Ranma found an utter enjoyment in using her ability to manipulate people while acting out her part. It also helped that Washu gave her an equal cut of what they made. Sure, Washu kept onto it for safe keepings since she was still young at the time, but she would receive some of the money she made each year on her birthday.

It wasn't like she really needed any money while growing up anyway. Living at the Masaki home didn't require the need for her to spend any money, and nobody expected her to since she was a child. Even when everyone did eventually learn of her having a past life, the fact that she was a kid was still there. She didn't even really need money when she was with her family on periodic visits back at the Malfoy manor. Even though her parents sometimes gave her money, they were happy to buy things for her if she wanted something. Except for the occasional book, game, or other small item, Ranma didn't spend too often, and so she took to sticking her money into a savings.

After converting what she had, Ranma turned around to see that Harry and Hagrid were heading off towards the vaults. Giving a shrug, she thanked the goblin before making her way out of Gringotts and back to Diagon Ally. Once outside, she pulled out her school supply list and went over the books she was supposed to get. She already had _A History of Magic, Magical Theory, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, _and_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ As such, she just had to worry about obtaining four books instead of more. Rolling up her list once again, Ranma stuffed it away and made her way towards Flourish and Blotts. It was one of the places she liked to visit whenever her mother brought her to Diagon Alley along with Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and a couple other small stores.

Upon reaching the small book shop, Ranma entered and proceeded to make her way around the various shelves and isles to locate the remaining books she needed. In her search, she happened upon a rather thick book called _Hogwarts: A History. _Since she was going to Hogwarts, knew basically nothing about it, and was going to perform a bit of research on the place, the cat-girl felt as if the reading material would be handy to have. As she reached out for the book, her hand was met by another that was trying for the very same copy.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" A voice said as the hand moved away from the book. Turning her head, Ranma saw that the voice belonged to a girl around her age with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and large front teeth. She was also - as with most people, to the redhead's slight annoyance - taller than the cat-girl by a couple centimeters. "I didn't know you were also going for that book."

Ranma shook her head as she snatched the book from the shelf. "Don't worry about it." She grabbed another copy and handed it to the other girl.

The girl gave her a smile as she accepted the book. "Thanks." She said happily. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. This is the first time I've ever been to a place full of magic, and it was so shocking to get the acceptance letter to Hogwarts a few days ago. My parents and I thought it was a joke at first, but I'm glad it's not."

Ranma blinked at how excited the girl was, but mentally shrugged it off. "I'm Lina." She said as her ears gave a twitch, which didn't go unnoticed by the brown-haired girl.

"Those are real?" Hermione asked with a gasp as she reached out to touch them, but didn't get to due to Ranma stepping back with her hands raised in front of her.

"I really don't like to have people touch them." Her ears were sensitive to the touch, and she would prefer to keep people as far away as possible from the base of her ears. "But yeah, they're real, and so is my tail." Said lower appendage swished in response. "I got caught in a magic accident when I was younger."

"That's amazing…" Hermione said in awe. "What's it like having them? Do you have better hearing?"

"Err- Yeah, if I concentrate on it, I could hear your heartbeat from where you're standing." It was one of the more annoying aspects of having higher senses. Things you hardly ever noticed before became almost as obvious of night and day. The constant beats of the heart coming from everyone was almost enough to drive one insane if they didn't know how to drown it out and ignore it. "They're not all that bad, and I can't really imagine my life without them. Only drawback is that they're nearly impossible to hide." Trying to wear hats over them only felt constricting, and whatever hat she was wearing would eventually fall off due to her ears moving. Hiding her tail was another completely futile effort. The best she could do would be to wrap it around her waist, but doing that for extended periods of time led to painful muscle cramps and/or temporary numbness. As such, she often had to pretend that they were just accessories when in non-magical or non-extraterrestrial public.

"Couldn't you hide them with magic?"

Ranma stared at the other girl for what seemed like a long moment before giving herself a slap in the head. Why didn't she think of that? There had to be some kind of spell that she could use to hide them from view, and maybe one of the books she had held the answer. Of course, it wasn't like she'd really use it all that much, because it wasn't as if she really ventured out into 'normal' human territory much. She mostly kept to the Masaki house, the magical community, and Nerima. The latter of which wasn't exactly normal to begin with, so walking around with her cat features only earned the occasional stare.

As both girls collected the remaining books that they needed, they ended up delving into some small talk. Ranma couldn't help but notice that Hermione reminded her of Washu in a way. She had a genuine interest in learning and desired to figure out all she could about the world that was new to her. In a way, the girl also reminded Ranma of herself, since after nine years of hanging around Washu, the genius's thirst for knowledge had managed to rub off on her.

Hermione's parents - a pair of dentists - also met Ranma a moment later. They were initially surprised at her non-human features, but managed to shrug it off and figure that it was just one aspect of the magical world. Besides, their daughter seemed to get along fine with the cat-girl, and she also seemed to be a nice young girl. A little on the tomboyish side, sure, but she was still a nice young girl. As such, they found that they had no worries about their daughter's ability to make friends at this magical school.

Both Hermione and her parents were also surprised when Laira talked, and Hermione couldn't help but let out a giggle of amusement at hearing about how the cabbit thought of Ranma as her mother. She was also disappointed to know that there was only two others like her that the cat-girl knew of.

After leaving Flourish and Blotts - Hermione having stuck her books in a cauldron that she had already bought earlier along with a telescope, and she was already possessed a wand, - they made their way over a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There, they met a smiling witch who was squat and dressed entirely in mauve-colored robes. Since there wasn't anybody else being fitted at the moment, both Ranma and Hermione were able to be seen to right away. As Ranma was being tended to, Laira waited over by Mr. and Mrs. Granger. In fact, the cabbit had let Mrs. Granger hold onto her and pet her.

"Well, well," Madam Malkin said as she tended to Ranma, "I thought I recognized you, dearie. Of course, you don't really see many people with cat ears and a tail." The witch had to laugh at that. Even though the shop dealt mainly with robes for students going to Hogwarts, it still stocked several varieties of robes and clothing. As such, it was a place that Narcissa would frequently bring Ranma to for browsing, along with Twilfit and Tattings. "My, it still seems that you are a little on the tiny side."

"Don't remind me." The cat-girl answered with a frown. Why must people always remind her of that fact? Just because she was short for her age, it was tossed at her constantly. Sure, her body hasn't really changed much the last few years or so, but was that really her fault? No, it was entirely the fault of her stupid Masu physiology that was apparently taking everything that was supposed to go towards her body to help it grow and storing it for sometime later after she hit puberty. At least, that's what Washu said. 'And stop laughing, Lai.'

'Sorry momma.' The cabbit responded in amusement.

After they finished, they were about to leave the shop when Ranma noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. "Hey, Hermione, you think you can find the rest of the shops okay? I need to make a restroom stop, and then I'm going for my wand and other things you already have."

Hermione was obviously disappointed to part with her new friend so soon, but gave her a smile. "Alright, but we'll see each other again at Hogwarts, right?"

After watching the bushy-haired girl and parents disappear out the doors and out of view, Ranma placed her hands behind her head as she teleported over to the person who was just now being seen to. "Yo, Draco." She said as she appeared next to the boy in a floating cross-legged position. Her brother wasn't quite as bad as their parents were with issues regarding muggle-borns, but he still held an obvious unfavorable view that she hoped she could somehow fix. It was the reason why the cat-girl had Hermione leave, because she wanted to talk a little with her brother, but didn't want a needless confrontation.

Draco jumped slightly, but after years of dealing with his sister randomly appearing out of nowhere, he had grown to kind of expect it. "Hey sis, I didn't think that you would be here today." He said as he watched her tail swish lazily behind her. Since he always knew his sister had cat features - since he couldn't remember anything from when they were younger than two-years-old - he didn't really find her to be that strange. Even her ability to fly, teleport, and move through objects was something he knew she could always do. "Father's next door buying my books, and mum is up the street at Ollivander's looking at wands. Have you already gotten everything?"

"Nah, just my books and robes. Probably go for a wand next just to say hi to mum."

"It's not like you really need a wand." Draco stated in regards to the redhead's ability to use magic without one. "Still, it is a required item to get for school, and I think it'd be a good idea for you to see mum. You haven't visited lately, and it's obvious that she misses you."

"Err- Well-" Ranma fumbled as she toyed around with her tail, "I've kinda been a little busy, and Japan is a nice place." Truthfully, Empresses Misaki and Funaho of Jurai had actually visited for the entirety of the last month on a 'well-needed vacation'. The excuse was a load of crock, really, because it wasn't like they actually had a lot to do on Jurai. Plus, Misaki only wanted to come just for the sole reason of cuddling the 'adorable little cat-girl.' They visited at least twice a year, and during a majority of the time during which, Ranma was stuck as Misaki's cuddle-toy. A slight shiver ran through her body as she thought about it. "Uh- See you later, bro." The cat-girl said as she picked up Laira and vanished, right before that boy she met earlier - Harry - entered the shop.

Ranma reappeared outside and proceeded to give a look around. It was a moment later when she was able to spot Ollivander's Wand Shop. It appeared to be a tiny shop with small dusty windows and a lone wand sitting on a faded purple cushion in the window. As she made her way towards the entryway, the door opened to reveal a tall woman with blonde hair. Both halted and stared at each other for a moment before the woman smiled and rushed forward to grab the girl in a hug.

"Lina! It's so good to see you again. I wasn't expecting to see you here today, and so this is a pleasant surprise." Releasing her daughter, Narcissa followed up by giving Laira a scratch under the chin. "And it's also good to see you too, Laira."

Ranma couldn't help but let a smile appear. She really did wish she could spend a lot more time with her mother, but her learning under Washu took a lot of her time, and at most, she could only spare a couple weeks at a time to visit. "Sorry I haven't visited lately, mum. I've been kinda busy."

"You don't have to apologize, honey." Narcissa said as she grabbed the cat-girl's hand. "I understand that learning all the magic you can is very important to you." She didn't like it that her daughter also showed an interest muggle related things, but it did seem that learning such things as muggle sciences allowed Lina to become better with her magic. The martial arts her daughter learned also seemed to have its benefits. In Narcissa's mind, everything that Lina was learning only helped her to become a better witch.

"Of course, it would be nice if you could stay at home a little longer, though." The woman added as she led the cat-girl into the wand store. "But enough of that, let's find a wand for you."

It was Ranma's first time setting foot into the wand shop, and she was surprised at just how small and cramped it seemed on the inside. There was just enough space for a handful of people to stand, and all around them was piles of small boxes that stood packed on high shelves. As she glanced around, Ranma could feel the fur on her ears and tail stand up as she was assaulted from every which way by a multitude of magical signals. They were small, but surrounded her in mass and clogged up her magic sensing capability and dulled her other senses.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Malfoy." A voice suddenly said from nowhere, causing Ranma to leap up into the air and cling to the ceiling. "And I take it that this young lady clinging to my ceiling is your daughter?" Searching around for the voice, the cat-girl spotted an elderly-looking man standing over in the corner. He had large silvery eyes that almost seemed to shine in the darkness.

"Good afternoon, Ollivander." Narcissa greeted with a nod. "And yes, this is my daughter, Lina Malfoy. My son will also be coming by later on. At the moment, though, my husband is helping him with a few of his supplies." She was trying her best to stay serious and civil, but it was hard when your daughter was clinging to the ceiling. "Lina, please stop clinging to the ceiling and get down here."

Ranma's cheeks turned red in embarrassment as she dropped down onto the ground before standing up straight to get a better look at the elderly man that was now before her. She could tell that her mother was amused by her over the top reaction, but didn't want to show it in public.

"You possess but the most interesting of appendages, Miss Malfoy. Lina, was it?" Ollivander said as he placed a finger to his chin. "They seem to suit you very well, and your eyes…" Leaning forward, his large silver eyes stared directly into Ranma's. "They are the most wondrous I have ever seen."

"Err- Right, so about a wand…" Ranma said as her tail began to curl and her ears flatten. The man was really starting to weird her out with his close proximity and the way he was looking at her as if he could see right through her.

"Oh yes," Ollivander said as he stood back up. "Which is your wand arm?"

Upon raising her right arm, Ranma soon found herself being measured from nearly every length as the elderly man went on about how good his wands were and that nobody else was as good as he was with making them. It went on for about another minute before she was handed a wand.

"Oak and dragon heartstring; 11 inches and very swishy. Give it a try."

Ranma waved it, but found that absolutely nothing had happened. Without warning, it was snatched from her hand and replaced by another wand.

"Fir and phoenix feather; 9 ½ inches and rather bendy."

The cat-girl felt a bit of power behind it, and gave it a swish. For a moment, it didn't seem like anything would happen, but then there was a loud explosion that occurred outside of the shop. Loud screams of 'look out' and 'bloody hell' could be heard as the sound of things crashing to the ground slowly came to a halt before everything was once again silent. Ranma, her mother, and Laira all shared a quick look as the redhead wondered just what she did.

"Haven't had someone cause that kind of panic while trying out a wand in ages." Ollivander said offhandedly as he snatched the wand from the girl's hand as he gave her one more. "Rowan and erumpent hair; 13 inches and unyielding." (1)

With a slight frown, Ranma accepted it, and soon found that the wand seemed to give off a warm feeling. When she gave it a flick, multicolored sparks flew out of the tip and flew in several directions before dissipating. "Um… how's that?"

"It seems that your wand has been found, Miss Malfoy."

Ranma was glad for that, because it meant that she wouldn't have to spend any longer in the shop and risk causing more accidents with random wands. After paying for the wand, they were about to leave when her father and brother entered the shop. The cat-girl, her cabbit, and her mother ended up faking ignorance when the two made mention of an odd scene that happened outside with a stall that was selling lawn ornaments. Apparently, the booth mysteriously exploded and sent several garden statues flying into the air and crashing down onto stalls and building roofs.

It didn't take that many tries, though, before Draco managed to find his own wand. If Ranma remembered correctly, it was Hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches long and 'reasonably springy.' At least the blond boy didn't end up causing any kind of property damage, which was something that the redhead figured her mother would reveal once they got back home. Ranma could only imagine the woman laughing hilariously as she told them that it was her who caused the damage.

"Lina," Narcissa began as they made their way out of Ollivander's to continue shopping for supplies, "Can you come home after we are finished with everything here in Diagon Alley?"

As she glanced up at her mother, Ranma could see the hope shining in the woman's eyes. It made her feel terrible that she wasn't able to visit lately. As such, she felt the need to try and remedy the issue. "Yeah, I can." She said with a smile. All she had to do was send and e-mail to Washu saying that she decided to spend some time with her family so that her mother could see her before having to leave for Hogwarts. "I think I can stick around for the whole month until I need to leave for Hogwarts."

After hearing that, Narcissa's face broke out into a look of pure joy. Being able to spend a whole month with her daughter was a rarity, and it was something that she always felt shouldn't be wasted. Of course, she didn't think any amount that she got with her daughter should be wasted, but a whole month allowed for a lot of things to do. "That sounds wonderful, Lina. I'm sure we'll have a great time together."

Ranma allowed a small sweat-drop to appear. She knew exactly what some of the things her mother had in store for them would be, but despite them, she was still fond of being able to spend time with her family… especially her mother. If being the student of Washu was so demanding at times, she would have tried to spend more time at home at the Malfoy manor.

The redhead discovered years ago that she greatly preferred her current mother, Narcissa, over her previous mother, Nodoka. She never revealed this aspect to Nodoka, but it was incredibly hard to not feel that way. Nodoka was incredibly demanding in the past of her being a 'man among men', and always carried that damn Katana around while unsheathing it at any instance of 'unmanly' behavior. While she always wanted more than anything to try and get close to the woman back then, there was a horribly strong detachment that went on between the both of them.

Even now, in this life, Nodoka seemed incredibly demanding of her. After it finally dawned on her that Ranma was now fully female, she constantly tried to instruct the cat-girl on the road to becoming a 'proper young lady.' It was a really aggravating relationship, and Nodoka didn't seem to understand what she was doing wrong. It was also strange that she seemed to try and pull all of that nonsense on her, but never tried to do it to Sakura.

Sakura Saotome, the daughter that Nodoka had almost a year after learning about Ranma being reborn. Even though the woman thought that Sakura should grow up to be a proper and respectable young woman, she never attempted to try and force her to act the way she wanted. She merely spoiled the girl as much as possible while focusing all of her ideals onto her former child. It was most likely some kind of screwed up way to try and make up for her past mistakes.

Narcissa, on the other hand, didn't attempt to try and force anything out of Ranma, because she was afraid of the thought of alienating the daughter that she didn't get to spend a lot of time with. She had a habit of dressing the cat-girl up and wanting to do 'girl things' with her, but would listen and back off on it when her daughter voiced her displeasure. Sure, she often did get her way in how she wanted to do things with the redhead, but she understood the time and place for when she could and couldn't get Ranma to go along with her.

Sure, her new family had a thing for 'pureblood', and weren't fond at all of muggle-borns, but Ranma could honestly look past that since she knew how they were in private with each other. They were like any normal family who cared about each other. Their ideals and the way they act in public just made them look terrible, but Ranma really didn't think they were. It wasn't like they had any evil ulterior motives that they were trying to actively accomplish or anything.

'Maybe I can try and spend a month at home next summer as well.' Ranma thought to herself. Washu already said that she was a lot farther in her studies than she originally thought the redhead would be, and if she managed to continue to stay relatively ahead while at Hogwarts, then maybe Washu would allow her to have that month to herself.

'I like it when we spend time with grandma Narcissa.' Laira answered with a hint of hope. 'And you know it would make her really happy.'

'Yeah, it would.' Ranma thought with a nod. 'I think I kinda owe it to her.' She was brought out of her thoughts when she they entered Slug & Jigger's Apothecary. Almost immediately, she had to place her hand over her nose while Laira scurried to hide under her hat. The smell of the place was terrible, and it seemed like some terrible combination of bad eggs and rotten cabbage with smaller smells from varying directions.

Draco was the first to notice her reaction. "You okay, sis?"

"I'm fine." Ranma lied in a muffled voice. "I'll just wait outside." Turning around, she quickly left the shop and let out a relieved breath. It was one of the things she hated about her senses. Terrible smells were a lot worse for her, but while she could drown out a single smell, combinations of various smells still managed to get to her. It was better than when she was younger though, because there sere several occasions when she was rendered unconscious due to not realizing. 'You okay, Lai?'

'Thanks to your hat, momma.' Laira answered. 'If we were paying attention, we would have noticed that we were entering that place, and then we could have prepared ourselves.'

Ranma nodded as she rubbed the bottom of her nose to try and get the smell out. She could even taste it in her mouth. If she had known they were going into the apothecary, she would have been able to anticipate it instead of be blind-sided.

"It looks like those great senses of yours aren't what they're cracked up to be, eh sis?" Draco asked with a smirk as he stepped out of the shop. "If you can't handle a little bad smell…"

"Shut it, dragon boy." Ranma said with a sidelong glance. "I could have handled it just fine if I was paying attention."

"I noticed that you looked a little out of it. Thinking of all of that complicated bookworm stuff that you're always reading? Maybe you'll be sorted into Ravenclaw, because I've heard about it being a house for know-it-alls."

The cat-girl gave a shrug before placing her arms behind her head and leaning against the wall. "Hey, you should try it sometime. Vincent and Gregory seem to like it when I help them from time to time."

"Crabbe and Goyle do seem a little better for it." Draco said as he placed a hand to his chin. "They're still rather dim, but at least Goyle can now read. Plus, they can make up their minds most of the time now."

Their parents came out just a moment later, and Narcissa quickly made her way over to Ranma and knelt down in front of her. "Oh Lina, I'm sorry I didn't realize that the smell would be terrible for you. I should have waited outside and keep you company. You too, Laira." She added when she noticed the cabbit poke her head out from under the redhead's hat.

"Err- That's alright, mum. I was just caught off guard." Ranma said with a small sweat-drop. Really, it was no big deal at all.

"We got the basic potion kits that the both of you will need for school." Lucius said. "That means we should only need to get a pair of cauldrons, telescopes, and scales. Do you think you'll be well enough to continue, daughter?"

Ranma raised her hands in annoyance. "I'll be fine, really." Sometimes, having parents that actually cared about her well being was annoying. "C'mon, let's get this shopping over so we can leave."

"That's right," Narcissa began, "You said that you'll be spending this last month at home." Grabbing onto her daughter's hand, she smiled. "Let's hurry so that we can make the most of this month, sweetie."

Ranma suddenly felt internal dread as she looked at the smile upon her mother's lips. It was the kind of smile that a kid had when they found out that they could have anything they wanted out of a candy store. As such, it was probably going to be a very long month.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

(1) An Erumpent is a huge African beast that looks like a rhino, and it's a powerful creature with a thick hide capable of repelling most charms and curses. Its long horn contains a liquid that can cause anything injected with it to explode. Male Erumpents are known to often blow themselves up during mating season.


	6. Welcome to Hogwarts

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to Lawra and the people of Fukufics for pre-reading and helping.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 6

It's a well known fact that months tend to pass by too quickly at times, and for Ranma, the last month was no exception. When she had returned home to the Malfoy Manor after her shopping for supplies was finished, the redhead had quickly made use of the small teleporter device that Washu had given her a few years prior - a device that was pre-set to allow the cat-girl to travel between the Masaki house, Tendo Dojo, Saotome home, Malfoy mansion, and Leaky Cauldron - to instantaneously appear back at the Masaki home to tell Washu of her plans and to gather a few items for her month-long visit.

Washu initially wasn't thrilled that her young student had suddenly decided to spend an entire month away without discussing it with her first. She could, however, understand the reason as to why Ranma was quick to a decision - impulsiveness was still an unyielding part of the child's personality as well, - and found that wanting to spend time with her family was a good thing. Washu even agreed with the younger redhead's rationale regarding her being ahead in her studies and could catch up while in Hogwarts.

Washu realized, however, that being able to keep up with her studies would be next to impossible now that Ranma was actually going to a full-time school. While it was possible that the cat-girl could find moments to study at Hogwarts, it was inevitable that the class work and homework she would end up receiving would be much more important than anything the diminutive genius could give her. It was also likely that if the younger redhead had to do both Hogwarts AND Washu's work at the same time, then it could very well result in her coming under a great deal of stress that would cause her work to become inadequate.

As such, Washu decided - very reluctantly on her part - that Ranma would have to take a break from being her student; at least until she finished Hogwarts. The news of the decision had managed to fill the cat-girl with mixed emotions. On one hand, she was glad that she could finally take a much needed break from all of the complex mathematics and scientific theories that the older redhead had constantly drilled into her brain. On the other hand, however, she had actually grown fond of her time learning from Washu, and so to not be doing anymore 'Washu work' for a few years would seem incredibly odd and alien to her.

Of course, since she no longer had the threat of overtaxing herself with two different kinds of workloads, Washu now expected her to put all of her effort into her Hogwarts work. Ranma, regrettably, knew _**VERY WELL**_ what that meant; it was _'Washu'_ for _'don't slack off and put everything you can into being academically better than everyone else. Let them all learn not to mess with a student of the Great Washu.' _As such, she was expected to do her best, and if it was apparent that she wasn't doing just that, then there were some rather embarrassing and ridiculous punishments waiting for her when she returned. She knew what some of those punishments would be, and so she was not looking forward to the idea of experiencing them.

Still, it meant that she achieved her goal of being free from her studies for the rest of that month; something that her mother took full advantage of by having the both of them - including Laira - spend a great deal of time together. Just because they were together for a majority of the time, though, didn't mean that Ranma wasn't able to get any training in. Narcissa was fond of watching her daughter train, because she would often incorporate elemental manipulation into her martial arts kata. As such, Ranma could often be seen near the garden fountain with water or ice being manipulated to flow around her body as she trained. She had to be a lot more careful with fire and other forms of magic, because those types of attacks had the potential for needless property damage… and it also scared away the white peacocks that lived in the garden.

During that month, Ranma also took the time to open up and read through the books that she bought for Hogwarts. After having spent nine years of her life around an aeon-old universal genius as a student - as well as an assistant to projects from time to time, - Ranma unknowingly developed an intense interest in knowledge and information that - while not at the same level - was strong enough to compare to Washu's. Whenever this point was brought up by anybody who noticed, however, the younger redhead would vehemently deny the accusation.

When the morning of September 1st finally came about, Ranma double-checked to see if she wasn't missing anything important. Everything that she needed was safely tucked away in her personal subspace pocket. Well, as personal as it could be when you had a cabbit daughter who could also reach into that very same pocket space without an issue. It wasn't a bad thing; in fact, it was something that managed to be incredibly handy at times, but the fact that there was someone else who could get to your things was still bothersome.

Washu taught her the mechanics to creating subspace pockets early on, but it wasn't until she was around seven-years-old when she had finally managed to accomplish a rudimentary pocket that - at the time - could only hold a max of 10 objects. Now, she wasn't sure what the limit was or if there was one. Being able to create an actual, livable area of subspace of her own was something that could take a few more years for her to accomplish, but she was in no real hurry.

"Mum, I've already made sure that I have everything." Ranma said with a sweat-drop as her mother hovered around both her and Draco to see if they were fully ready and weren't forgetting anything. The cat-girl pointed to a small brown pouch that was tied to her waist. "It's all safely in here." It was partially the truth. Even though everything was hidden away in subspace, she could reach into the pouch, grab something from her pocket, and pull it out as if it were in the pouch.

"Oh, right, I forgot you could do the extension charm." Narcissa said with a finger to her lips in thought. She always found it difficult to get over just how advanced her daughter was in her magic.

'Yeah, extension charm, right.' Ranma thought as she stared off to the side. She wondered what everyone in the wizarding world would think if they ever learned that their extension spells were actually much simpler ways of accessing and manipulating subspacial planes.

"I do hope that you'll be able to help me out a little now that I have a wand, sis." Draco said as he held his wand between his fingers. It always did bug him that his sister could basically perform magic without a hitch, but now that he had his wand, he figured that he could quickly catch up. Of course, he figured that it would be next to impossible to get to her point of ability, but getting close enough was all that mattered.

"That's right," Narcissa began, "If your brother is ever in need of help, I hope that you would lend it to him, and the same goes for you, Draco." The blonde went back to triple-checking to make sure that Draco had everything he needed with him.

Ranma gave a quick nod as she placed Laira on her shoulder. 'That shouldn't be too hard.'

"Laira's going with you?" Narcissa asked with a blink. "Well, I suppose that's okay. There aren't exactly any rules as to what you could bring with you, and Laira could easily be mistaken for a pet rabbit of sorts." Cats, owls, and toads were the three most common creatures that students took with them, but they were free to bring any kind of small and manageable animal they could. "I don't think I've ever seen you two separated for long periods of time, honestly."

Laira frowned at the mention of 'pet', but figured that it'd probably be something that many people would think of her as. It'd at least allow her to stay with her mother, because it just wouldn't feel right to be away from her.

Lucius cleared his throat to get his family's attention. "If everyone is ready to depart, we should hurry up so that the both of you don't miss the train." He, too, hoped that both of his children had everything they needed, but since his wife was doing such a fine job of making sure, he felt as if it'd be silly to also make a fuss. "Both your mother and I will be apparating you to platform nine-and-three-quarters."

"Eh? Do we have to go by apparition?" Ranma asked her father with a frown. Traveling via apparition wasn't a method she liked, because it felt as if she were being forced through a ventilation shaft one size too small. It was something she hated whenever her parents decided to take them traveling by using the method.

"It's the fastest way to get to the train." Lucius answered. He was well aware of his daughter's displeasure of that mode of transportation, but one often had to suck in their displeasure and do what needed to be done.

The cat-girl's ears twitched in annoyance. 'If only I could do long-distance teleportation…' Her own teleporting ability, while incredibly useful, was only good for short distance travel of about one to three kilometers per teleport depending on how well she could see the destination in the distance. The atmosphere was also another - slightly minor - issue, and in places with a lack of atmosphere such as outer space and spatial bodies, she could teleport to a farther distance.

"Yeah, we're ready." Ranma answered as she reached up and gave Laira a scratch on the head.

"We've been ready." Draco said with a small frown. They're mother just kept on checking even though they said they were, and so that's what took up some time.

"Are you sure?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes!" Both Ranma and Draco responded at once.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once they arrived at platform nine and three-quarters, Ranma - shaking off the uncomfortable feeling that she experienced from the apparition - glanced around so as to take in her surroundings. She could see an occasional child arriving via an a parent apparating them, but the majority of people seemed to almost be phasing through a small section of the wall. 'Must be some kind of gateway.'

Standing all around the platform were crowds chattering amongst each other, and Ranma's hearing could pick out the various conversations that were being made. Various kinds of cats and owls could also be seen, and from what the redhead could hear, many of the cats would have rather stayed home and slept, and a few seemed to wonder about what owl tasted like.

Turning her attention to the train, she noted that it was a deep crimson color, and smoke from the engine drifted into the air. Above the train was a simple sign that stated 'Hogwarts Express' in large letters.

'It's strange that they use an actual train to get to a magical school.' Ranma thought as she made her way through the crowd. She could feel the occasional stares aimed towards her due to her feline features, and was also able to hear small whispers from people who were wondering if they were real.

'Do you think the train is run by magic?' Laira asked as she observed the large connected series of vehicles.

Ranma gave it one last look before climbing on board one of the carriages. 'It looks more like a normal steam engine to me. There's even a driver hanging out of the engine window.' That didn't rule out that there wasn't some form of magic at work on the train, though. Giving a wave to her parents - her mother seemingly trying to keep from tearing up in public as she waved back an said a few things to both her and Draco, - the cat-girl left the doorway and began to look and see if she could find a compartment of her own.

The redhead quickly found an empty one with a window facing the platform and made herself comfy next to the window. She watched as Laira proceeded to hop off of her shoulder, land on the seat next to her before, and quickly curl up. Turning her attention out the window, she caught sight of her parents right before they apparated away; most likely so that they wouldn't have to be around the crowds any longer than they needed to be.

As she reached up and scratched the base of her ear, Ranma held out her hand and allowed a small, turquoise-green object to appear in the palm of her hand. It was rounded and about the same diameter of a volleyball. The design on it had an obvious string design that made it look like a flattened yarn ball. Ranma quickly opened the top and revealed that it was - in reality - a mini-laptop computer. The space under the screen had, in clear letters, the title _Stringy 2.0_.

When she was two, Washu had given her a laptop that was similar to her own that she had gotten thanks to participating in a special prank that the genius had cooked up. The laptop was originally part of the prank, and so Ranma was surprised that she was actually given the thing afterwards.

The laptop was, naturally, a holo-laptop, but so she didn't have to answer any unnecessary questions, it had a special cloaking mechanism that made it look like it currently did for when she was in public. Washu herself had initially chosen the disguise for the amusement, and even though she was initially peeved, Ranma grew to like the appearance. She had even given it the current name, even though '2.0' wasn't really needed. She just thought that it sounded cool and awesome.

'Maybe I should send an e-mail to Washu-sensei and tell her I'm on the train to Hogwarts.' Ranma wondered as she thought about how she hadn't had any contact with the older redhead since the beginning of the month. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was feeling a little homesick for the Masaki home.

"Oohohohohohohohooo!" The shrill, almost demonic sounding laugh caused both Laira and Ranma to almost jump out of their seat; their hair and fur standing completely on end. The cat-girl quickly turned her attention to the window and glanced out to see if she could see anything. It seemed as if almost everyone else outside had become silent due to the laugh and were also looking about. It was then that she caught sight of a black-haired girl who appeared to be at least two years older than her. The most defining feature, though, was the overly large breasts that bounced when she laughed. She was with what looked to be her family, and none of them seemed to notice the stares aimed their way. Instead, the girl said her goodbyes to her parents and younger sister and began carrying her luggage to one of the train carriages.

Her eyes turned towards Ranma's window, and violet eyes met heterochromatic eyes for what seemed like - to the cat-girl - an eternity before the girl turned her head and made her way into a different carriage.

'W- What was that, momma?' Laira asked with a huge shiver.

'I… don't know, and I'm not sure if I want to find out.' Also, why did that laugh sound so familiar? 'Let's just pretend that we never heard it.' For some reason, the laugh was enough to fill her with feelings of dread and misery. There was hope that she wouldn't have to find out who the person was.

"Lina!" Upon hearing her name, Ranma turned her attention towards the entryway to see Hermione standing there with her luggage. "I thought I noticed your ears in the window when I was looking at the carriages. It's good to see you again." She said with a smile as she pulled her trunk inside. Ranma returned the greeting as Laira happily hopped off of the seat and into the bushy-haired girl's arms. "You too, Laira." She added as she scratched the cabbit on the head before noticing that something seemed amiss. "Lina, where are _**YOUR**_ things?"

"In here." The cat-girl said as she pointed to the pouch at her side. At Hermione's confusion, she reached into it and pulled out a book. "It's an Extension Charm." She lied. "I have everything I need in here, so I don't have to worry about lugging around a bunch of heavy things."

Hermione's eyes widened at the information. "That's amazing; so you can already do some magic? I know of a few spells after reading and practicing wand movements, but nothing overly useful." It was then that her eyes landed upon a turquoise-green object that was floating right in front of the smaller girl's chest. "What's that?"

"Laptop," Ranma answered, "Got it from the woman I've been staying with in Japan." During their last meeting in Diagon, she had made passing mention of how she mostly spent time in Japan with someone as a student.

"Wow…" The awed girl quickly realized something. "Wait, when you said you were a student, I thought you meant in magic. A laptop computer isn't magical in any way."

"I have been learning magic." Not from Washu, sure, but she was learning how to do magic while staying at the Masaki home. "But I've been taught in various scientific and mathematical fields since I was younger."

Hermione could only continue to stare in awe. She didn't think that she would easily meet another person in the magical world who was familiar enough with non-magical things like electronics and computers. The statement of being taught in sciences and maths while growing up was also intriguing, and she couldn't help but wonder just how much the girl knew. However, there were other things that were also on her mind. "Oh, Lina, have you read any of the text books you bought yet? I've already browsed through them, and my favorite has got to be Hogwarts: A History."

Ranma gave a small nod. "I've been reading them when I have the time." She would often sit in her bed at night with a Lighting spell sphere hovering above her head as she held a book in her lap.

"I want to be prepared for just about anything the classes teach. I don't want to be left behind, and I want to try my best and show them that someone from a non-magical family can be just as great as one from an already magical one." The brown-haired girl gave a humorously serious nod as she put on a look of determination. "Do you have any goals in mind, Lina?"

"None that I can really think of." Except, of course, for beating the snot out of everyone when it comes to the grades. 'Hee-hee, nobody's gonna beat Ranma Inversia Malfoy.'

'Umm- Momma, you're not going to start laughing like Washu, are you?' Laira asked with a hint of worry. She didn't want Hermione to suddenly think that her mother was crazy.

The redhead's eye twitched slightly at the question. 'What do you mean 'laugh like Washu'? Since when have I done something silly and crazy like that?'

'About three weeks ago.' The cabbit answered. 'As well as off and on since you first did it five years ago.' She added with a roll of her eyes.

'I do _**NOT**_ laugh like Washu.' Ranma bit back in indignation. 'I would never be caught dead laughing like that.'

Before the conversation could go on any further, the door to the compartment slowly opened up. "Um- Excuse me…" The trio turned towards the door to see a short and plump boy looking at them nervously. He was round-faced with a head of short blond hair, and his eyes glanced slowly between the two girls. "Is it okay if I sit in here?"

"I don't see why not." Ranma answered. "There's plenty of room."

"Thanks" The boy said as he entered the compartment and sat down. "By the way, I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom."

"Hermione Granger." Hermione greeted with a smile.

"Lina." Ranma added before pointing to Laira. "And that's Laira." She quickly noticed the boy glance curiously at a couple of certain appendages. "And yes, my ears and tail are real. Magical accident and some such stuff back when I was younger." She had a feeling that before the day was through, she'd be repeating it over and over again. "Maybe I should make some kind of sign that explains it so I don't have to bother anymore."

"Sorry," Neville said as he lowered his head, "I didn't mean to stare."

The cat-girl waved a hand. "Eh, don't worry about it. I'm used to getting stares." She proceeded to cross her arms and tilt her head. "Didja know that you have a toad sitting on your trunk?"

The boy's head shot up as he snapped his head into the direction of said luggage, and sure enough, there was a small toad sitting on top of it. "Trevor!" Neville shouted as he snatched the creature. "Thank you, he's always managing to get away from me if I don't pay any attention. I lost him as I was getting onto the train, but my grandma hurried me on board.

It was at that moment when the train began to move, and Ranma turned her head to look out the window and watch the scenery roll by as Laira and Hermione began to have a conversation with each other. Neville - upon getting over his initial shock at the fact that the Cabbit could talk - mostly kept to himself and his own thoughts out of the fear of possibly saying something stupid.

"Oh, which houses do you think you'll be sorted into?" Hermione asked as she looked between Ranma and Neville. "I don't know much about either of them, but I have read some things in _Hogwarts: A History_. Personally, I think I prefer the sound of Gryffindor the most. However, Ravenclaw also sounds like a good house to be in."

"I'm likely to be placed in Hufflepuff." Neville said softly. "I doubt I have what it takes for any of the other houses. In fact, all of my relatives thought I might be a Squib until my great-uncle accidentally dropped me out of a window. I bounced when I hit the ground."

Ranma gave the boy a half-lidded stare. "Sounds like a nice guy." She said sarcastically. For some reason, he reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite remember who. "It doesn't really matter to me what house I get put in. The way I look at it, it'll most likely either be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Gryffindor is also a strong possibility, but I see the other two as the most likely ones." It wasn't like what you learned at the place depended on what house you were sorted into.

Neville gave her a wide-eyed look. "Slytherin? But don't you know that a lot of dark wizards and witches were from there? Even You-Know-Who was a member of that house."

"If every loon dreaming of world domination came from the place, don't you think there would have been something done by now to change it?" The redhead asked as she pulled out a manga to read. "Voldemort would have probably turned out the same even if he was in another house."

The pudgy boy gave a loud eep. "You just said You-Know-Who's name! How could you say his name?"

"Easy," Ranma said, "I think he was a git."

"He did sound like a truly terrible man, though." Hermione said as Neville continued to stare at Ranma with his jaw hanging loose. "I can't think of what would happen if he were still around."

"If he were still around," Laira began as she crossed her tiny arms, "Momma would have kicked his ass until he begged for mercy." Two pairs of eyes stared directly at her in disbelief. "And then she'd kick him some more!"

"But he was a powerful dark wizard with years and years of experience." The brown-haired girl said as she glanced towards her friend. "You're not even in Hogwarts yet and are only 11-years-old, Lina. How could you ever defeat someone like that?"

"You'll see." Ranma said with a smirk as her tail swished around to rest across her lap. No need to explain anything, because the knowledge of her abilities would probably get around the school soon enough. It's not like she would be able to keep things like her flying or teleporting secret. Those were practically part of her everyday use.

Before either Neville or Hermione could ask any further questions, the door to the compartment slid open to reveal a smiling woman pushing along a food trolley. "Would any of you care for something from the cart?"

"Sure," Ranma said as she hopped to her feet and made her way over. "You guys want anything?" She asked as she glanced at Hermione and Neville.

"You don't have to worry." The blond boy said with a quick wave of his hands.

"I'm not sure." Hermione added with a frown. None of the stuff seemed familiar at all, and she didn't really want her friend to spend some money on her just for snacks.

The cat-girl gave a shrug before turning back to the woman. "I'll take 15 Chocolate Frogs, 10 Cauldron Cakes, 11 Pumpkin Pasties, 10 Licorice Wands, and three Pumpkin Juices, please." She pulled out a Galleon and handed it to the trolley lady before gathering up what she bought. "Thanks." She said as she handed Hermione and Neville two of each sweet. She also gave them each a Pumpkin Juice before sitting back at her seat.

"Want some juice, Lai?" Ranma asked as she pulled out a small cup from subspace and poured some of the contents from the bottle into it. Nodding in response, Laira hopped over to sit next to her mother and accepted the cup. "C'mon guys, no need to feel bad about me getting you something to eat." She said to a reluctant Hermione and Neville.

"But you didn't have to…" The bushy-haired girl glanced down at the items she was given. "Is Pumpkin Juice really made from pumpkins?" The thought didn't sound too tasty.

Ranma shook her head as she took a drink. "Nah, it's just a brand name."

"And Chocolate Frogs?"

"They aren't real frogs." Neville said as he opened one of his own to reveal a frog-shaped chocolate with a card. "They also come with collectable cards of famous wizards." Just as the statement left his lips, he noticed something that was wrong. "AH! Where's Trevor?" His toad had previously been sitting next to him on the seat, but it was no longer to be seen. The door to the compartment was also open enough for a toad to slip out. "Not again!" He shouted as he jumped to his feet and ran out the sliding door in search of his toad.

Hermione jumped to her feet as well and decided to help in looking for the creature. "It couldn't have gotten too far!" She quickly made her way out of the compartment in an effort to help search. This left Ranma and Laira alone to enjoy their sweets in peace.

"Think they're going to eat all of theirs?" Ranma asked with a glance towards Laira as she chomped down on a Chocolate Frog. The question earned her an eye-roll from the small cabbit. "What? I'm hungry."

The cat-girl's ears twitched at a low sound coming from the doorway. Glancing towards the direction, both Ranma and Laira watched as Neville's toad hopped back in and onto the seat across from her. It gave another small, muffled croak before swallowing something.

"…I'm not even sure I want to know what you just ate, Trevor." Ranma said in a low voice. Who knows what kind of tiny creature the thing could have found.

Trevor merely stared at her before hopping back off of the seat and slowly heading back out the doorway. This left Laira to look up at her mother. "We're not going to capture him?"

"Nah," Ranma said as she at a Pumpkin Pasty, "Neville or Hermione will probably happen across it."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry that we couldn't find Trevor, Neville." Hermione said in an attempt to comfort the boy as they headed back to their compartment. They had traveled almost all around the train to try and find the toad, but to no avail. It wasn't a total loss, though, because the bushy-haired girl did get to encounter Harry Potter. She had encountered Neville on the way back to their spot, and they decided - reluctantly on the blond's part - to stop searching.

"It's okay," The boy said, "I'm sure he'll show up, because things like this happen all the time." He just hoped that it was before he got off the train.

As they returned to their compartment, they came to a halt at the site before them. Ranma was sitting with her back leaning against the wall as her legs rested comfortably on the seat. She was still snacking on the sweets that she bought, and Laira was resting comfortably upon her head. In her hand was the same manga from earlier that she hadn't stopped reading. What really caught their attention, though, was that a certain toad was calmly sitting on top of the redhead's leg as if nothing seemed out of place.

Upon hearing the duo, Ranma turned her head towards them. "Hey guys, Trevor was just hanging around with us while you were gone." The toad gave off a loud ribbit as Neville rushed over and scooped it into his hands.

"So we didn't have to search for him after all." Hermione said softly with a shake of her head. "Oh well, looking around the train was fun anyway." She turned her attention towards her friend. "Lina, guess who we saw." At the cat-girl's shrug, she revealed the name. "Harry Potter."

"Probably still scraggly looking and tiny." Ranma said as she ignored the fact that he was still taller than her.

"Well, he did seem a little-" The bushy-haired girl halted as her eyes widened slightly. "You've already met him?"

"For a brief moment when I was at Diagon shopping for supplies."

"Oh," Hermione said with a blink. She proceeded to change the subject. "Also, I made a brief visit to the front of the train to talk with the conductor. We'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon, so you should probably put on your robes."

Giving a nod in understanding, Ranma quickly pulled out the black material and slipped it on over her clothes. She didn't bother to snap the buttons, and so the front of her shirt could clearly be seen. Just as she had done so, a voice over the intercom spoke up and mentioned about how they were ready to arrive at Hogwarts within five minutes. There was also mention of them leaving their luggage on the train for later pick-up, but she didn't need to worry about that.

Sure enough, the train came to a stop five minutes later. Ranma - moving Laira from her head and into her arms - started to head out with Hermione and Neville, but the crowds filtering out of the train caused the trio to be separated. Figuring that she'll just meet up with them later, she headed on outside and stepped foot onto a tiny and dark platform. A small, chilly wind softly blew against the top of her head, but she ignored it as she twisted her ears to listen any possible instructions on what to do next.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The loud, easily identifiable voice of a certain giant of a man shouted above the crowd. Turning her head, Ranma caught sight of Hagrid - a feat that was obscenely easy due to his size - towering over everyone as he held onto a large lamp to light the way.

A quick teleport - going largely unnoticed by most of the crowd - allowed the cat-girl to instantly appear near the man. As she did, she caught sight of Harry, who was next to a boy with short red hair and freckles. "Hey," She said with a lazy wave of the hand.

"Ah, Lina," Hagrid greeted with a smile, "It's good ter see yeh again." He quickly went about shouting for anymore first year students.

Ranma then turned her attention to the bespectacled boy that she had met a month ago. "Yo, Harry."

"Hello." The boy said with a small nod.

"Oh no, where's my toad?" The obviously distressed voice of Neville could be heard over the crowd of students. Hearing this caused Ranma to slap her forehead in exasperation.

'This kid,' She thought as she followed the giant of a man who had finished shouting for first years, 'He reminds me of someone, but I can't think of who.' In just the short time of meeting him, she was already able to tell that he wasn't very lucky. 'Oh, wait, now I know.'

As they followed Hagrid along, Ranma was rejoined by Hermione when the other girl caught sight of her ears. They quickly continued along the steep and narrow path until they came to the edge of a large, spacious lake that had a dark and eerily calm surface. On the other side, atop a tall mountain, was a huge castle that stood firm against the night sky.

It was quickly revealed that they'd get to the castle via a series of small boats that were sitting at the edge of the lake. They were tiny, old, and were only able to hold up to four people in each. Ranma climbed into a boat with Hermione, Harry, and the redheaded boy she saw earlier. Said boy was also closely holding a rat in his hands.

A rat, however, that managed to slightly confuse the cat-girl. "Is that your rat?" She asked as she leaned forward a little to get a better look at it. For some reason, it didn't really smell like a rat. Sure, it had a faint smell of one, but there was something odd about it.

"Yeah, his name is Scabbers." The redheaded boy said as he stared at the ears of the girl before him. "Hey, are those-"

"They're real." Ranma said as she twitched her ears. "How long have you had that rat?"

"He's been in my family over 10 years, why?"

"Just wondering." The cat-girl responded with a shrug. That info alone was enough to make her realize that something wasn't right. From the biology classes Washu had given her, she learned that the lifespan of an Earth domestic rat was only about three to four years. While it was possible for one to manage to live longer than that, 10 years was beyond the understandable possibility. This was - as Washu would say - something that deserved to be closely monitored for the purpose of science. Maybe she could actually discover something that Washu couldn't. "Hee-hee-hee-hee…"

Her sudden breakout into low chuckling earned her weirded out looks from the three human and two non-human occupants of the boat. "Um- Lina, are you okay?" Hermione asked with a sweat-drop.

"Huh?" Ranma asked before giving a wave. "Oh, I'm fine." She didn't know why she was getting weird looks. "By the way," She extended her hand towards the redheaded boy, "I'm Lina."

The boy stared at her for a moment before reluctantly returning the handshake. "Ron Weasley," He said. "Don't know if I should ask this, but are you right in the head?"

"Of course I am." Ranma answered with an annoyed look. Why the hell were people questioning her sanity all of a sudden? Glancing around the lake, she pulled out her final Chocolate Frog and ate it. The card that she had received was one that she already had several of. "Cornelius Agrippa…"

"Did you say Agrippa?" Ron asked with a look of interest. "That's one of the cards I'm missing from my collection. Could I have it?"

"Sure," The redheaded girl said as she handed the card to the eager and happy boy. She then turned back to the lake and watched as the arm of a giant squid appeared above the water before lowering back down into the deep. 'Just what kinds of creatures are in this lake?'

After several minutes of floating upon the lake and drifting beyond the opening of the cliff and a curtain of ivy, they soon reached the end of the dark tunnel and were allowed to exit the boats. From the happy shouts of Neville, it was obvious that the boy had found his toad again.

From the boats, they made their way up a long set of stone stairs to reach a large pair of oak doors. After making sure that everyone was there, Hagrid gave the wooden doors three knocks with his large fist. Almost instantly, they swung open to reveal another person who was obviously female. She was a tall, black-haired witch dressed completely in emerald green robes. She - who Hagrid had called Professor McGonagall - thanked the giant of a man and told everyone to follow her.

After making their across a flagged stone floor, Prof. McGonagall began to explain to them about the importance of the sorting ceremony, which Ranma only half-listened to. If anything, the whole 'house' thing sounded like one big bother. She did notice as the woman's eyes lingered on her unbuttoned, but she paid it no attention as the woman left.

It wasn't too long of a wait - during which time, a group of ghosts had appeared and managed to cause people to scream - before Prof. McGonagall returned and ordered them to form a line. They then proceeded to head out of the small chamber, move across the large hall, and through a large pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Both Ranma and Laira were, to say the least, impressed at the sight before them. The hall was filled with thousands of floating candles that hovered in place several feet in the air, over four long tables that contained the rest of the students. At the front of the hall was another table where the teachers sat. As Prof. McGonagall led them to the front of the hall and positioned them so that their backs were to the teachers, the cat-girl glanced up and took notice of the bewitched ceiling. She - like Hermione had just mentioned - had learned about it from reading that history of Hogwarts book during the month.

Turning her attention back to Prof. McGonagall, Ranma watched as the woman pulled out a four-legged stool and placed it in front of all of the first years. She then brought out an old, patched up, and dirty pointed wizard hat and set it down on top of the stool.

'That thing has seen better days.' Ranma noted offhandedly.

'Why did they bring it out?' Laira asked.

The answer instantly came when the hat opened an actual mouth and started to sing about its looks and each of the four houses. Both cat-girl and cabbit couldn't help but sweat-drop at the display and students clapping. 'Like it said, we have to put it on.'

McGonagall soon began to call people in alphabetical order to come up and sit on the stool. When the hat was placed over their heads, it slid down to cover their eyes and ears. Almost instantly, it would shout out the house that the student would belong to. First, it was such names as Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones, and the both of them were sent off to Hufflepuff. The list kept going until it reached Hermione's name.

"Gryffindor!" It shouted, and the bushy-haired girl proceeded to make her way over to the correct table. Neville, too, was sorted into Gryffindor.

When it was her brother's turn, Draco swaggered over to the stool and sat down. Almost instantly, the hat sent him over to Slytherine to be with Crabbe and Goyle.

"That figures," Ron whispered to Harry and Ranma, "He seemed like the type who would be right at home in Slytherin.

"You don't say." Ranma answered back.

"Well yeah, he's a complete git who will probably-"

"Malfoy, Lina!" McGonagall shouted. This caused both Ron and Harry to stare at the redheaded girl with wide eyes.

"You're related to him?" Harry asked in shock.

Ranma gave an amused smirk. "Yep, he's my twin brother." She said as she walked away from the thoroughly shocked duo. For some reason, that felt thoroughly refreshing.

"You should take off that cat ear accessory before putting the hat on, Miss Malfoy." The woman in emerald robes said with a small frown.

The cat-girl braced herself for the oncoming explosion. "I would, but they're kinda attached to my head." For emphasis, she gave them a few quick twitches in different directions, and even flattened them upon her head. This caused the entire Great Hall to erupt in shock and awe as everyone started talking about the new and strange girl.

Prof. McGonagall - also shocked at the revelation - turned to look at Albus Dumbledore. The elderly wizard, however, merely told her to proceed with a look of amusement apparent upon his wizened face. The raven-haired witch frowned slightly at the knowledge that the headmaster apparently knew about the girl's features, but never bothered to prepare her, or the other teachers, about it. Without another word, she slid the Sorting Hat over the redheaded girl and stepped back.

"You are definitely an interesting one." A small voice commented softly in Ranma's ears. It almost caused her to jump, but she managed to hold herself. "Hmm… let's see here. You have quite an amount of courage and nerve, daring and bravery are there too. You're also hard-working, friendly and loyal to a certain point. There's _**A LOT**_ of intelligence, knowledge, and wit here in this noggin of yours, and I can definitely see why. It's an interesting life that you lead indeed."

Ranma couldn't help but stiffen. 'The hell? You can-'

"As I stated in my song, there is nothing in one's head that I cannot see. Do not fret though, because I will not reveal what I see."

"R- Right…"

"In continuation, it appears that you're also very cunning and ambitious with a large amount of cleverness, resourcefulness, and determination. You do a good job of keeping your secrets hidden, along with many things that you would rather not reveal. You are definitely one who is hard to decide for."

"I don't really care where you put me, because it's not like it'll make much of a difference." She said in a soft voice.

Her statement caused the hat to chuckle. "Well, out of everything, I would have to say that your strongest traits and desires would mean that you would be more at home in SLYTHERIN!" The last part was shouted throughout the Great Hall.

After taking off the hat, Ranma hopped off of the stool and made her way over to the Slytherin table. The fact that the hat could actually see her life like an open book was incredibly disturbing, and she couldn't help but wonder just who in the right mind actually created the thing. She was also aware that everyone was still fixated on her ears, but they hadn't even seen her tail yet because of the robes covering it. Briefly, she wondered if she should cut a hole through them so that her tail wouldn't be confined and end up uncomfortable.

"And here I was thinking that you'd end up in Ravenclaw." Draco said with a laugh as his sister. "The reactions everyone had to your ears was priceless, you know that?"

Ranma gave a shrug as Laira hopped onto her shoulder. "I just more 'Slytherin material' is all. From how it sounded, the hat could have put me in any one of the houses. Hey Vincent, Gregory." Both Crabbe and Goyle returned the greeting.

"Are those ears actually real?" A girl to Ranma's right asked.

Turning her head, Ranma noted that that the girl who asked had dark hair, and possessed a slightly large, squared build. She wasn't the only one who was centering her attention on the redhead, though, because most of the people at the table were staring. "Yeah, they are. There was a magic accident when I was younger."

"Do you have a tail as well?" Someone else asked.

"Yeah, I do." Ranma answered in annoyance. She was glad when Harry's name was called, because everyone's attention was soon focused on the bespectacled boy instead of her. Once the boy was sorted into Gryffindor, the entire Hall erupted in applause. 'Seems they all forgot about me.' The cat-girl thought with a relieved sigh as she turned back to the sorting. There weren't many left to be sorted after that. The only one of interest that Ranma paid any attention to was Ron, and he - like Hermione, Neville, and Harry - was sorted into Gryffindor. It seemed kind of weird that they were all sorted into that very house.

After the sorting was finished, Albus Dumbledore stood up to greet everyone. "Welcome to a new year of Hogwarts!" He announced as he beamed at all of the students. "Before we begin our banquet, there are a few words that I would like to say. They are Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." The aged wizard in half-moon spectacled promptly sat down as everyone clapped and cheered.

'Momma,' Laira began with a worried expression, 'Was it really a good idea to come here?' The place already seemed to be a little on the loony side, and they hadn't even been around for a full day yet.

'I'm not sure…' The redhead returned as she scratched the side of her head. She was brought out of her musings, however, when her nose started to pick up the smell of food. Glancing down, she was surprised to see that the table was now full of a multitude of various kinds of food. Her eyes widened like a kid in a candy store as she laid eyes on the roast beef, roast chicken, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, pork chops, lamb chops, peas, carrots - something that caught Laira's eye the most out of everything, - and various other kinds of foods.

A large, gleeful smile appeared on her lips as her eyes sparkled in wonderment. After picking up a fork, she proceeded to quickly grab as much stuff as she could of each variety that was present on the table. To everyone else, her hands were merely a sightless blur as her plate piled up quickly. Once it was hardly able to contain anything else, the cat-girl got to work quickly scarfing it all down.

"My god," One student said with a completely gob-smacked expression, "How does she do that without even choking?" It almost seemed as if the girl wasn't giving herself time to even rest for a breath.

"Forget that, how can she even move her arms so fast?" Someone else asked as they observed the inhuman speed. "That just can't be possible." Even other students from other tables were watching in astonishment.

"I have never seen anything quite like that." A low voice commented with a hint of disgust. Ranma glanced up to see that the voice belonged to a ghost that was hovering close to Draco, and the boy in question seemed to feel vastly uncomfortable about the ghost's proximity. The ghost was rather spooky in appearance with blank, staring eyes, a gaunt face, and what looked like silver blood splattered upon his robes. Large chains also dangled from his body, as if he was carrying a heavy burden.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Bloody Baron; the Slytherin house ghost."

"Nice name," Ranma deadpanned, "With a name like that, I'm guessing you don't get invited to many parties."

The ghost merely glared at her for her cheek, but when Ranma didn't return any reaction and, instead, ignored him, the Bloody Baron made a small comment about 'disrespecting children' and moved away from the spot. This, in effect, caused Draco to give a small sigh in relief at no longer having to be next to the creepy ghost.

"I've never seen anybody who _**WASN'T**_ the least bit nervous about facing the Bloody Baron." An older Slytherin boy a couple spots down whispered. "Everyone is usually afraid of him."

Ranma rolled her eyes in response. What was he going to do? Wave his chains around and scream 'Oooooo, fear me, for I am the Bloody Baron!' and make all kinds of noises? The very thought was just silly.

Eventually, the feast had finished, and the food vanished. At that moment, Dumbledore proceeded to get to his feet. This action silenced the Great Hall and allowed him to speak. "Now that we've all been fed and watered, it's time for the start of term announcements. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to everyone. Some older students should do well to remember that as well."

Ranma was curious to know why it was so forbidden.

"Our caretaker, Mr. Filch," He motioned towards someone standing by the doors. Ranma, who saw the man, figured that he was someone who had a pinecone stuck up his ass. "Has asked me to inform you all that no magic should be performed in between classes in the corridors."

"Quiddich trials will be held in the second week of the term. If any of you have interest in playing for your house teams, please contact Madam Hooch." Ranma knew what the sport was, but she never bothered too much with getting interested in it. "And finally, this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who doesn't wish to die a painful death."

Ranma couldn't help but wonder just what in the hell kind of school would have something that dangerous lying about. Still, she was rather curious to know just what was in that corridor that was so dangerous. 'Maybe a little exploring of that place is in order.'

'Are you sure, momma?' Laira asked with worry.

'Of course,' The cat-girl answered, 'It can't be anything THAT dangerous, and is probably just said like that to keep students away from whatever secret it is.'

After listening to the school song - something that was so out of tune and pitchy that caused her to wince, - they were all dismissed to head off to their dorms. The prefects from each house stood up to lead their charges in the directions of their houses. As Ranma followed the Slytherin group, she noted that they were heading down into the dungeons. As they moved deeper, the area became chillier as small drafts of wind blew past.

'You'd think they would have a way to keep this place a little warmer.' The redhead thought with a small frown. After another minute or so of walking, they came to a stop at a dead end brick wall. It quickly opened to reveal a secret passage, however, when one of the prefects stated a password. Ranma wasn't able to catch what it was, but figured that it didn't matter in the long run because she could always either teleport or phase through the wall.

Upon entering the Slytherin common room, Ranma noted that it was a large area that consisted of a low-ceilinged, dungeon-like room with greenish lamps. Comfortable couches and armchairs, also greenish in color, dotted the middle of the room and the spot near a fireplace in the corner. The entire place possessed an odd atmosphere of sorts despite the coziness, and Ranma figured that it was probably due to the green glow. She watched as Laira quickly hopped over to one of the sofas and made herself comfortable.

"The common room extends partway under the lake, and so this is the reason for the green-colored lamps that you see." One of the prefects mentioned to the first year students. "Now, the boys' dormitories are down the right set of stairs, and the girls' dormitories are down the left set of stairs. Both also contain their own bathing chambers. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the common room, because it shall be your home while you are in school over the next seven years. Also, you would all do well to remember the passwords, because if you forget them, then you could be locked out."

Ranma quickly took note of the locations of the dorm rooms and bathing facilities. She felt too tired to take a bath at the moment, and so she decided to just head off to bed. First, though, she had to get her robes off so she could flex her tail a little. Having it confined under the material was annoying, and she never could bet used to having it covered by clothing. Once she took them off, though, she noted that she was getting several stares from others still in the common room. "What?"

"You really _**DO**_ have a tail." A girl - Pansy Parkinson if Ranma remembered correctly - said in shock. "I thought you were just kidding when you said you had one."

"Nope, I was being serious." The cat-girl answered. "You'd think people would-" She halted in mid-sentence as her body became as stiff as a board. Her fingers twitched violently as her mouth was held wide open as if she were trying to say something, but was paralyzed.

"It definitely does feel real." An older Slytherin boy said as he was holding onto the crimson appendage. Near him were a few other students who were attempting to take turns touching it to see.

"It's really soft." One girl added as she rubbed the tip of the tail against her cheek. "You must take really good care of it."

As students continued to flock to Ranma's tail in an attempt to fondle it, the redhead's fingers continued to twitch even more violently as a deep blush spread across her cheeks. "D- Don't," Her hands balled up into fists as she turned intangible, pulled her tail out of their grasps, spun around, and wrapped her legs around one of the heads of the students and performing a powerful leg lock, "DON'T EVER TOUCH MY TAIL!"

Everyone jumped away in fright at the sight of a tiny, originally innocent-looking cat-girl snarling in anger and embarrassment as she was squeezing a boy - who, they all might add, was much larger than her - into submission. Her fangs could easily be seen as she clenched her teeth, and her eyes had turned a deep crimson. After a moment, she let go and stood back up. Grabbing onto her tail, she pulled it close before sending a glare around the room. Without another word, she quickly made her way towards the dorm rooms.

"W- What was that just now?" A girl asked as she glanced from the direction the cat-girl had gone, and to the boy just now getting back to his feet. "That was almost like-"

"A cornered animal?" Someone else asked. "Well, she is part cat…"

"It's because you were all grabbing her tail." Draco said with a frown as Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him. "My sister definitely _**DOES NOT**_ like having people touching her tail, because it causes her pain. She can also become violent if that happens, and you do not want her on your bad side."

A seventh year girl couldn't help but smirk. "It seems as if there's a wee bit more to it than just pain from the looks of things. In fact, if I was to guess, I'd say that-" She wasn't able to get out what she was going to say due to being knocked to the ground by a folded paper fan to the back of the head.

"Say another word… just try it, and I'll turn you into a scratching post." A blushing Ranma said as she flexed her claws and glared at the older girl. With one last look around, she left the area for a second time. This left everyone to stare after her in both shock and confusion.

"You know," A fifth year girl said in an effort to break the silence, "She's kind of interesting."

"Really? I think she's kind of scary after that sudden outburst of anger."

"Oh come on, any cat would do something like that if you cornered it. Many also don't like their tails pulled or grabbed, and she's part cat."

"True."

Discussions about the new girl with cat features could be heard for about an hour until the students started trickling off to bed. Many of the older students actually wondered if this would make the year a lot more interesting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

And so Ranma has entered Hogwarts. May mayhem and insanity ring true.

Yeah, I know I've basically been slipping up in uploading new chapters and everything, as well as neglecting my other stories. The issue is... I just can't really get into doing much with them right now. Despite the fact that I would like to get back to working on my stories regularly, I'm just having issues doing that. The main issue being a general lack of interest in working on my stories, as well as the fact that I haven't really had much of an interest in fanfiction lately. As such, I apologize to everyone who is waiting for certain stories, or for stories to update a little quicker. *Bows*

I'll get back to things eventually, but for now, I figured that it was best to let that information out.


	7. First Days Are Always A Bother

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to Lawra and the people of Fukufics for their help in pre-reading.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 7

"Where the hell am I?" Ranma asked herself as she took in her surroundings. She stood upon the top of a cliff overlooking some kind of mysterious and seemingly huge castle. Turning her attention upward, the cat-girl stared at the completely alien sky. Two different colored moons, one green and one silver, hovered close together, and were both the same apparent size. Other than the two satellites, countless stars could be seen dotting the night sky.

A loud rustling in the brush behind caught her attention and forced her to spin around. Raising her arms, Ranma made sure to prepare herself for whatever may have been planning to pop out at her. She was certain that she would be able to handle anything that was thrown at her with ease.

At least, that's what the redhead thought. What charged out of the bushes caused her to freeze up as all of the color quickly drained out of her face. "Oh hell…" It was all she could get out as the beasts leapt onto paralyzed cat-girl without mercy. "Get. Off. Of. Me!" She shouted as she punched the nearest one hard in the face, but that didn't have much of an affect as the thing grabbed onto her arm.

"I hate slugs!" Ranma shouted in both anger and disgust as the obscenely large and slimy creatures quickly managed to capture her despite her best efforts. "Let me go, you stupid gastropod freaks!" Sadly, they didn't listen, and proceeded to carry her down the cliff and towards the castle she saw earlier. All the while, the redheaded cat-girl could be heard loudly complaining about the 'disgusting slime' that was being given off by the creatures. Most of which, to her distress, had managed to cover her and allow the slugs to carry her.

After what seemed like 10 grueling, horrifying minutes, the mass of slugs finally arrived at the castle. Entering through the gates, they continued on down the large corridor until coming to what seemed like a throne room. Here, they stopped and released the cat-girl from their clutches. Once they did, Ranma started to violently wave her arms and yell out obscenities.

"Someone get this damned mucus off of me now! Get it off!" When she was around four, Washu had her study the biology and ecology of slugs, along with other gastropods and mollusks. It was then that she learned that she had an odd aversion to slugs that caused her to feel disgusted and nervous when around them. It wouldn't be until later on, after gaining a few more memories from Lina Inverse, that she learned the reason why. Lina Inverse had an intense phobia of slugs, and with those memories, there were others that showed - from a very young Lina's point of view - just _**HOW**_ the fear came to be.

Thankfully, Ranma didn't have a full blown phobia of slugs, but she was still weirded out and disgusted enough by the things to prefer the idea of staying as far away from the little monsters as best she could.

"It seems as if we have caught a trespasser in our glorious kingdom." A feminine voice said. "One who apparently does not appreciate the wonders of slug mucus."

Ranma raised her head to send the woman a glare. "What wonders? I'm covered in-" She immediately froze up when she caught sight of the woman sitting up high on the throne. "L- Luna Inverse?" She shouted as she backed up as far as she could. Memories of Lina's childhood with the older Inverse sibling would often come in the form of nightmares as the cat-girl was growing up. In fact, Ranma couldn't think of anything that was scarier than the woman before her; even her old phobia of cats took back seat to the sheer terror of Luna Inverse.

"That's Queen Luna of Inverse to you. Bring the girl closer!" Luna shouted to the slugs. After a small struggle and shout of immense disgust, the cat-girl was placed less than a meter away from the throne to allow the older girl to observe her more closely. Almost instantly, a large smile appeared on Luna's lips. "Oh ho, so you have been recaptured after another escape attempt."

"Escape attempt? What are you-"

"Do not try and feign ignorance." The queen interrupted with a slap to the top of the cat-girl's head. "You, the Slug Maid, thought you could get away from your life duty, but it never occurred to you that your outfit binds you to this kingdom!"

Ranma could only stare in total confusion. When was she ever a Slug Maid, and what outfit was she talking about? Upon turning her head and noticing a mirror, however, the redhead instantly understood. "What the hell am I wearing?" She shouted as she jumped to her feet. It looked like some kind of grotesque and frilly pink leotard with the design and texture of a slug, and there was even a slug tail hanging from it that took the place of her cat tail. Knee-high boots and elbow-length gloves of the same kind of design adorned her legs and arms, and on her head was a hood that covered every part except for her face. Even her ears were missing, and in their place was a pair of wobbly slug-like eyestalk antennas.

"It's your attire that defines you as the Slug Maid, of course." Luna said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now that you have been retrieved, I expect you to get back to work cleaning up after the slugs. After you're finished, you're free to relax in your usual mucus bath. We can't have your outfit drying out now, can we?"

Ranma's left eye twitched violently as her hands clenched and unclenched. "Like hell!" She shouted as she used her claws to rip off the disgusting outfit. After doing that, however, she found that there was a different outfit underneath. "What the-" It looked exactly like the outfit Alice from Alice in Wonderland wore. "Alright, what the hell are you trying to pull now?" She asked as she glanced up.

However, when she did, she found that nobody was there. Instead, it was a room of total darkness. Before she could even say anything else, she began to fall down into the black abyss. "This is getting ridiculous!"

Her eyes quickly widened when she saw a humongous cabbit heading right for her, and quickly yelled out as the cabbit's large foot charged towards her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma's eyes snapped open to see a small, furry foot pressed against her face. Upon realizing that everything that had just happened was just part of some odd dream, she gave a small sigh of relief and pushed Laira's foot away from her face. 'Thanks, Lai.'

'You were having a weird dream, weren't you?' The cabbit asked with a tilt of her head. It was easy to tell because of the redhead's constant tossing and turning while mumbling and sending mental calls of distress. 'Good thing I woke you, momma, because I don't think anybody else here would appreciate you waking them up with a loud scream.'

'What time is it?' Ranma asked as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Grabbing a small device from subspace, she pressed a button and watched as a holographic clock popped into existence and displayed the time. "Midnight," She said with an apparent frown. With a sigh, the cat-girl scratched the back of her right ear as she took in her surroundings. She was currently sitting in a four-poster bed that was located in a dorm she shared with about five other first-year girls in the Slytherin dungeon. The curtains of her bed were closed, and so the only clue she had to there being others in the room was the faint breathing coming from the other beds.

She attempted to lie back down and go to sleep, but quickly found that no matter how much she tried, it just wouldn't come. With a small curse, Ranma sat back up and rested her head in her hands as her tail swished behind her. She hated it when she woke up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, because more often than not, she would be wide awake until sometime later when she would fall back asleep. She didn't have a regular sleeping pattern, and - like Ryoko - was prone to mostly taking small naps off and on. This was because she didn't need a lot of sleep all at once, and could go with less than three hours of sleep a night, followed by smaller intervals throughout the day. If she used a lot of physical or magical energy, though, then she could usually get in a longer sleep period.

'Hey, Lai,' Ranma began, 'You wanna explore this castle a little?' She wanted to familiarize herself with the place so that she didn't get lost attempting to find her way to her classes. Sure, there was the small issue of it being against rules to roam the castle at night, but that was only if she got caught.

Laira nodded vigorously as she hopped up onto her mother's shoulder. 'Staying in this place is too boring; I wanna see more of the castle so that I'd know my way around.' She didn't want to have to stay in the dorm at all times while the cat-girl was going to classes, and so learning her way around would be fun.

Without another word, Ranma phased her head through the curtain to check if the coast was clear. Upon seeing that nobody was a wake, she proceeded to completely exit her four-poster bed and sneak her way over to the dormitory's door. Poking her head out, she saw that the coast was again clear. As she moved up the stairs and through the Slytherin common room, the redhead noted that the only living things present were a couple of cats lying around on the furniture.

As she phased through the secret passageway and made her way through the darkened dungeon corridor, Ranma kept her senses on high alert. It wouldn't do for her to be captured so easily, especially when she had the advantages that she did. One problem she quickly realized, though, was that the sleeping paintings also gave off some noise as the snored.

"_It seems as if a child has wandered away from where she is supposed to be." _A small voice spoke up from a darker section of the corridor. Ranma and Laira instantly realized that it belonged to a - female- cat, and watched as she stepped out from the shadows. Her fur was dust-colored, and she appeared scrawny and skeletal. She also possessed bulging, yellow lamp-like eyes that showed off a great deal of intelligence. _"My, you're the girl with the cat ears from the sorting." _She drawled out as she walked closer to the redhead.

"_And you were with that old guy who seemed to have something shoved up his ass." _Ranma answered back, and couldn't help but smirk at the feline's shock.

"_You… understand what I am saying?" _The cat asked with much wider eyes. _"Well, I suppose that would make sense. You do seem to be part cat and all. Still, that is no excuse for you to be out of your dorm after hours."_

"_Oh yeah?"_ Laira asked with a glare as she hopped onto Ranma's head. _"So what if momma is out? What are you going to do about it?" _The cabbit really didn't like this stuck up cat.

"_I'll tell Filch, of course." _The cat answered with a feline smirk. _"It is my job to report rule-breakers to him. Anyone who breaks a rule in front of me shall be reported to Filch. Not many can get away when he is on their tail… so to speak."_

"_What if the person escapes as you're telling the old guy, though?"_ Ranma asked with her arms crossed. _"I don't think he'd be happy to waste trips, and I'm not too keen on sticking around to wait."_

"_You think you're fast enough to escape? All I have to do is run for him, and he would know almost instantly. There's no way-" _She stopped when she realized that the girl she was talking to was now crouching right behind her. _"How did you_-_"_

Both Ranma and Laira smirked at her bewilderment. _"I can teleport instantaneously." _For emphasis, she disappeared and reappeared in several spots around the cat. On the last one, she completely vanished before reappearing up from the floor. _"Move through solid objects and fly as well. By the time you tell the old guy, I could have quickly teleported somewhere else, or jump through the walls, ceilings, or floors. So go ahead, tell him. I'll just go somewhere else."_

The dust-colored feline was at a total loss of the situation. Here she was hoping to intimidate the silly little girl into going back to her dorm, but ended up learning that said girl possessed some abilities that could prove to make her job near impossible. In all the years that she's been helping Filch, she had never felt as helpless and unable to do her job as she did now.

"_Well, see ya later."_ Ranma said with a wave as she made her way over to the wall. She wanted to get away from the annoying snob of a cat as quickly as possible.

"_Wait,"_ The cat said, _"My name's Mrs. Norris." _She stood up straight in an effort to look dignified. _"I think I will overlook your disobeying of the rules in regards to being out and about after hours. You are a cat, and as one, you have the need to prowl around and scope out your surroundings. It would be utterly rude of me to impede upon something as natural as that." _

"_You're too kind."_ Ranma said sarcastically as she and Laira gave Mrs. Norris a shared half-lidded look. 'Cats can be such pompous jerks sometimes.' She thought as she phased through the wall. Being able to communicate with them was more of a bother than anything else, because more often than not, they would merely whine about being hungry, tired, complained about things they didn't like, or demanded things they wanted. It was just her luck to be stuck in a castle that housed a great deal of them thanks to the students.

'This Filch guy doesn't seem all that nice either.' Laira added. 'Hopefully we won't have to run into him.'

After a moment of traveling through the castle's stone walls, they quickly came upon what appeared to be the kitchen. Just like the Great Hall, it was an enormous, high-ceilinged room that appeared to be about the same size as the Hall itself. Four long tables that were similar to the house tables were positioned in a row. Countless brass pots and pans could be spotted around the walls, and a giant brick fireplace could easily be spotted.

"Miss just came through the wall like a ghost!" A small voice squeaked in astonishment, grabbing the cat-girl's attention and causing her to look downward. There, she saw a tiny house elf that was dressed in a tea towel. Its large eyes stared in amazement as she carried a large pot. "Was Miss hungry and decided to come for something to eat?"

"Err- Just exploring the school." Ranma answered. The idea of getting something to snack on didn't sound all that bad, though. "Hogwarts has house elves?"

The house elf gave a nod. "Yes Miss, Hogwarts does. Hogwarts has a hundred of us, and we prepare meals, clean dormitories, and take care of the castle." A few elves quickly popped into view and went about their work. "Kipsol must get back to work, but if Miss wants food, we would be most happy to give it." The tiny elf hurried over to place the pot she was carrying near the others.

Ranma nodded and decided to keep that information in mind for if she was ever hungry. As she observed the house elves working, her mind slowly drifted off to thoughts about Dobby. These elves seemed to completely love their job, where as he was the exact opposite due to how her family treated him. She was basically the only one who Dobby actually liked to do things for, and didn't have to fear about being yelled at. The only reason that Ranma hadn't outright freed him was because of two reasons.

The first reason being that Dobby refused to accept clothes from her on the basis that he didn't want her to get in serious trouble with her parents for doing that. The other reason was that she didn't know what would happen to him if she did free him. Thoughts of just where he would go, or what he would do festered up in her mind whenever she considered it.

Upon hearing the faint sound of an opening door, Ranma and Laira turned their attention to the opposite wall to see a section open up to reveal a secret entryway. They didn't have to wait long before two boys stepped on through and into the kitchen. It was easy to tell that the two were twins by just looking at them. They were both on the short and stocky side, and had flaming red hair with numerous freckles on their face. Based on the latter two traits, Ranma could only guess that they were related to Ron.

'Well, mum and dad did say that the Weasley family had lots of children.' The cat-girl mused.

"Oh, what's this, George?" The twin on the right asked as both boys made their way over to the girl. "A little first year has decided to wonder away from the safety of her dorm."

"Not just _**ANY**_ first year, Fred." The other responded with a finger to his chin. "It's the girl with the cat ears that managed to shock the entire school. Look, she also has-"

"A tail to match?" Fred asked as he finished his brother's sentence. "Don't you think it would look lovely with a big and frilly bow?"

Ranma gave the duo a glare. "Do it and die."

"Whoa, kitty has claws!" Both boys said at once in mock fright. This only caused the smaller redhead to glare even harder. "Don't hurt us; we're too young to die."

'Jackasses…' Both Ranma and Laira thought at the same time.

George decided to speak up next. "I'm curious, how was a first year that hasn't been at Hogwarts for one full day yet able to find her way to the Hogwarts kitchen?" Even they took a few weeks to come across the place when they first arrived.

The cat-girl gave a shrug in response. "Just lucky, I guess."

"How do you luckily tickle a pear?" Fred asked. Upon receiving a confused look from the girl, he continued. "To get to the kitchen, you have to-"

"Tickle the pear in the fruit bowl portrait so that a door will appear." His twin finished. "If you don't know that, then you had to have come in from a different way, and there are no other passages to or from this place."

Ranma found herself sweat-dropping once she realized that she had accidentally backed her way into a corner. "Who needs a door?" The cat-girl asked as she figured that it wouldn't be long before her abilities were discovered anyway. The redhead proceeded to vanish from her spot in front of the twins. She then reappeared behind them with her arms draped around their shoulders. Of course, she had to float a little to properly pull it off. "I can get around perfectly without them."

The twins gave a shout of surprise as they hopped away and turned around. Needless-to-say, they were wide-eyed at seeing the heterochromatic-eyed girl floating in front of them with her legs crossed Indian-styled. "How are you doing that?" They both asked. It was a well-known fact that being able to levitate ones' self was an incredibly difficult thing to do, and even the greatest wizards and witches couldn't master it properly. Here in front of them, however, was an 11-year-old girl comfortably floating in air as if it came natural to her. There was also the matter of her sudden apparition that didn't involve any noise at all.

"Just a few things I can do." Ranma answered as she planted her feet back onto the floor. "As for how I got into the kitchen," She proceeded to sink down into the floor up to her chest, "Let's just say that it's also a special ability of mine." She returned to her spot above the floor.

The redheaded girl soon found herself being poked in the shoulder by the twins. "How?"

"I don't know," Ranma lied, "I've been able to do those things for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure how I can do them; I just can."

"Abilities like those could really come in handy." Fred said with a smirk as he placed a finger to his chin. "If we could do things like that, George, just think about what we could do."

"Pulling pranks on other houses inside of their own dorms would be possible." His brother responded with a laugh before extending his hand towards the cat-girl. "Name's George Weasley, and this less-than-handsome bloke here is my brother, Fred."

Fred put on a fake look of being hurt. "You wound me, brother. Since we're twins, though, that would mean that you're also less-than-handsome."

Ranma sweat-dropped at the humorous exchange, but accepted the handshake anyway. "Lina Malfoy."

"Who could forget the name of a girl with cat ears who caused such an interesting reaction at the feast?" Fred asked. "You said that your name was Malfoy."

His twin continued on. "Does this mean that you're related to Lucius Malfoy?"

"Err- Yeah, he's my father." The smaller redhead answered as she scratched the base of her ponytail.

"Our dad has talked about him a lot." Fred said with a frown. "Did you know that your father was a big supporter of You-Know-Who? Once You-Know Who disappeared-"

"He came back saying that he was under the Imperius Curse all along, but dad thinks he was making it up and reckons that Lucius was right in the inner circle of You-Know-Who's." George finished with his own frown.

"I know my father can be a real jerk to other people, but I don't think he would ever willfully take part in murdering innocent people." Ranma lied as she crossed her arms. Of course, she was fully aware that her father used to be a willing follower of Voldemort in the past, but honestly didn't want to admit it. If Voldemort truly was dead, then her father would basically be harmless.

"Maybe not." The twins both said at the same time. "It happened a long time ago, so you most likely wouldn't know." George continued. "Besides, you seem okay for a Slytherin."

"Huh?" Ranma asked with a blink.

"Yeah, they're usually a right nasty bunch."

"They don't seem all that bad." Laira piped up, causing the twins to stare at her in surprise.

With a sigh, Ranma plucked her daughter off of her head and showed her to the two boys. "This is Laira. She's my magical familiar." It was a term that they decided to use while around people in the magical world. Since neither liked the idea of using the term 'pet', they decided to go with 'familiar'. This would then clue in most to the realization that Laira was basically her own person.

"Ah, that explains it." The twins said in unison. It wasn't unheard of for familiars to learn to speak. They met a raven familiar on one occasion in Diagon Alley that was able to do just that.

"Lina," Fred asked with a smirk, "How would you like to help us pull a spectacular prank on Filch and his cat?" His brother's eyes lit up in response. With the cat-girl's abilities, they could sneak in something and get out without them even realizing it. It'd definitely help start off the school year in a spectacular way.

Ranma thought for a moment as she thought about the name. "His cat is named Mrs. Norris, right?" At a double nod from the twins, a smirk appeared on the smaller redhead's lips. "Alright, let's do it. That cat needs to be taken off of her high-horse anyway."

"Yeah, let's do it, momma!" Laira shouted as she pumped a fist into the air. "We'll teach her not to be a pompous jerk!"

"Come again?" Fred and George asked in slight confusion. The way they were talking about the cat was a little odd.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With Ranma's help, setting up the pranks they had in mind had turned out to be incredibly easy. Once finished, the three redheads plus cabbit decided to head back to their houses and see if everything went off without a hitch later when morning came. Before she returned to her dorm, though, Ranma made a quick stop back at the kitchen to obtain some tuna steak and carrots for both her and Laira. After-all, why should one pass up a great opportunity to get something to eat when it's available?

By the time she returned, it was going on 2AM, and she still felt wide awake. Cursing once more about her inability to get back to sleep, the redheaded cat-girl opened up her palm and cast a lighting spell. The small ball of light floated up into the air and stopped in place above her head. Thanks to the curtains around her bed and the beds of the other girls, there would be no issue in accidentally waking them up.

Next, she brought out her laptop in order to send a quick message to Washu. She wouldn't admit it, but she was starting to miss doing work for the crab-haired genius, and occasionally helping with scientific experiments were also something she enjoyed. If Hogwarts didn't have enough in the way to keep her attention, she would likely end up bored out of her skull due to lack of mental stimuli.

After sending the message, Ranma proceeded to pull out one of her books to continue reading. More precisely, she pulled out the book _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration._ To the redhead, Transfiguration sounded like one of the more interesting magical subjects in that it was the field that involved changing the very molecular structure of an object into just about anything else. From how it sounded in the introductory chapters of the book, the subject had a large basis in an Equivalent Change sort of thing. The more things were similar in size, shape, structure, name, or sound, the easier they would be to transfigure. Likewise, the least similar something was, the more difficult it would be to change.

Ranma was so caught up in reading that she didn't stop until she finished the book at a few minutes to 7AM when it sounded like a few of her dorm mates were starting to wake. This was proven true when her curtain to her side was pulled open to reveal a girl with disheveled, shoulder-length dark hair wearing a dark purple nightgown. If the redhead remembered correctly, the girl's name was Pansy Parkinson. "What's that light?" Pansy asked groggily as she pointed to the floating orb above the cat-girl's head.

"A lighting spell." Ranma answered as she canceled it out.

"Oh," The girl said as she rubbed her eyes, "Just wondering what the light was." She gave a small yawn as she stepped away from the curtain. "Breakfast is supposed to start at 7:30, so we should get dressed."

Giving a silent nod, Ranma put her book away before climbing out of bed to change out of her pajamas. It was then that she noticed that - accompanying her robes - there was a uniform. 'Aw jeez,' She thought to herself in annoyance. She had assumed that the robes and hat would be the only things required, and not something else that she'd have to dress up in all year.

"Are you sure that you're 11-years-old?" The cat-girl turned her head to see the large-bodied girl from last night who asked if she also had a tail. Millicent Bulstrode was her name, Ranma recalled. "You look more like you're eight or nine."

"What's wrong with that?" Ranma asked in annoyance as she slipped on her white, high-collared undershirt. "Size doesn't mean a thing."

"It's just that it makes you seem so weak and tiny; as if you aren't all that healthy."

"Yeah? Well this tiny, weak, and unhealthy body is strong enough to lift your large ass with just a single finger." The redhead bit back after slipping on the pleated, knee-length dark gray skirt after putting a small tail hole in the back. She would have rather preferred to have pants due to feeling that they were more comfortable, and also not have to worry about annoying drafts and other issues.

"Watch it, little girl." Millicent said as she placed her hands to her hips and drew herself up to full height so as to look intimidating. "Don't think that just because your family is rich, you can talk big and think that everybody will be intimidated. I wouldn't have a problem with being the one to shut that mouth of yours."

Ranma couldn't help but smirk. "That's what you think. Now, could ya please go somewhere else? Not only is your presence eroding my intelligence by the nanosecond, but your breath is mussing up my ear fur." She made a motion of trying to smooth out the crimson fur on her cat ears.

The larger girl let out a low growl as she attempted to reach out and grab the cat-girl. However, she missed as said cat-girl dodged her hand. She made a second attempt, but found her hand batted away by a simple paper fan as her tiny adversary slipped on a light gray uniform vest with green and silver bordering. "Will you just stand still?" Millicent shouted as she tried to grab Ranma in a bear hug. Sadly for her, she missed again, but wondered where the girl had gone.

"You know," A calm voice from above said, "You're a little on the slow side." Ranma finished as she stood calmly on top of the larger girl's head and worked on adjusting her green and silver tie. "Maybe it would help if you worked out a little more."

"Hey, get off of me!" Millicent shouted in annoyance before remembering something else the redhead had said. "Are you saying I'm fat?" The question of just how the cat-girl got up on her head in the first place was lost.

"Nah," Ranma answered as she hopped off of her perch. Sitting down on her bed, she quickly pulled on the black, thigh-high tights. Millicent wasn't really fat; she just had a larger build that was kind of square-ish. "I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt if you worked out a little more. It'd keep you healthy, and you'd probably get a little quicker." As she ended her statement, the cat-girl slipped on her second shoe before tightening the buckle strap.

Once finished in her dressing, the redhead pulled out a mirror from subspace to check her appearance. The action of pulling the mirror out from thin air caused the other girls in the room to stare in shock and confusion. "You know," Ranma said as she made a small pose, "I think it actually looks good on me." She could hear Laira give off a small giggle in amusement.

"Where'd that mirror come from?" A voice to Ranma's left said. Turning, the redhead noted that it came from a girl with long blond hair and large blue eyes. Her right eye was mostly covered by her long bangs, but wasn't completely obscured from view. In her arms was a pink, large-eyed jellyfish plushie.

"Magic, of course." Ranma lied. Why were her dorm mates looking at it so oddly when they were used to magic in their everyday lives. As the cat-girl stared at the blonde, she couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Gosaria Negash." The girl answered.

'Hmm… never heard of that name.' Ranma thought as she scratched her ear.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So you hoped that you would have been placed in Ravenclaw like the rest of your family?" Ranma asked as she and Gosaria made their way through the corridors to get to the Great Hall. On her shoulder was Laira, who decided to tagalong to see what the daily routine at Hogwarts would be long.

Gosaria gave a small nod in confirmation. "It was thought that I might end up in Hufflepuff, though, because I'm not really all that bright, and I can be forgetful at times." She lightly tapped her fist against the top of her head. "I was surprised when the Sorting Hat told me to go to Slytherin, because I've heard a lot of bad things about it."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it." Her companion said lazily as she put her arms behind her back. She really didn't know why everyone considered the house to be so terrible or anything. It's almost as if they expected something bad to come out of it.

As they neared the Great Hall, a male voice called out from behind them. "Gosaria!" The duo turned around to see a boy of about 17-years-old in a Ravenclaw uniform. His shoulder-length, dark blond hair was tied back in a simple, small ponytail, and his dark green eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. In his hands was a book labeled _Advanced Potion-making_.

"Quintinsy," Gosaria answered back in a small voice, "Sorry for ending up in Slytherin."

"Oh, don't worry about it." The older student said as he raised his hand. "I doubt mum and dad would care either, but it is a shame that you weren't able to get into Ravenclaw as well. Then again, you never were the brightest light in the bunch, ha ha." Quintinsy's statement caused a blush to appear on his sister's face. It was then that the teen noticed that someone was accompanying his sister. "Hmm? Oh, it's the cat-girl from the sorting."

"Lina Malfoy."

"Ah- yes," Quintinsy's green eyes stared directly into Ranma's heterochromatic ones. "I hope that you do not intend to guide my sister down the wrong path, Malfoy." Standing up straight, he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he gave the redhead a pointed look. "You see, I fear for my darling younger sister's well being now that she is stuck within Slytherin. She is an impressionable child, and neither I nor our parents would like to see her go down the wrong path. Now, it'd be nice if she could make some friends, but I don't know if I could trust a Malfoy. I've heard many rumors regarding your family, and none of them are things I like."

Ranma ignored the boy as she glanced to the side. "Gosaria, is he always like this?"

"Yeah..." The blonde answered softly as she scratched her cheek. "But he's really smart- the smartest person I know, and he's always making sure I'm safe. It's just that he overreacts to things a lot, and he gets carried away with what he thinks is best for me."

"Gosaria!" Her brother stated with a bit of shock. "You know that I'm only looking out for your best interest. What if this thing-"

"Thing?" Ranma asked with a visible frown. "I'm a human being, you idiot." Of course, she knew that she wasn't a human anymore, but to have someone such as this state it so callously. "I only look like this because of a large magical accident from when I was younger."

Quintinsy quickly adjusted his glasses. "Well, you don't really seem to be human anymore. Those ears and tail aren't really something that a human would normally have. Even your pupils have an inhuman shape to them that resembles a cat's, and don't get me started on your obvious fangs and sharpened fingernails." The scene was causing quite a few students to stop and stare. "If anything, you could easily be classified as a Beast or Being, but I doubt you could ever be considered a human. Maybe you could even be classified as a magical creature. If that were the case, then you shouldn't even be allowed in Hogwarts."

Gosaria quickly noticed that her new friend's expression had slowly started to become darker and darker over the last few moments. The same could even be said for the rabbit-like creature upon the girl's shoulder. "Um- Lina?"

Before Ranma could make her displeasure known, a squeaky, disapproving voice beat her to the punch. "I'm surprised at you, Mr. Negash." Everyone turned their heads to see a very short man with a shock of white hair on top of his head.

"P- Professor Flitwick!" Quintinsy stated with a hint of shock. "What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean that I am surprised at you for how rude you are acting in regards to Miss Malfoy's condition. Her current appearance truly is due to a magical accident when she was younger. If anything, she would be considered half-human; very capable of attending Hogwarts and being on the same level as any human." The tiny professor gave the boy a serious look that many didn't think was possible from the carefree man. "Would you consider me to be any less human or capable due to having goblin ancestry?"

"Of course not, professor!" Quintinsy said nervously as he raised his hands. "I was just pointing out that- err-" He couldn't find the words he was searching for, and with Prof. Flitwick still glaring at him, he figured that the best thing to do would be to apologize to the redheaded cat-girl before quickly being on his way.

Ranma watched him leave before turning her attention back to the diminutive Flitwick. "Um- thanks."

"Think nothing of it, Miss Malfoy." Flitwick said cheerfully as he gave the cat-girl a quick pat on the hand. "I couldn't just stand by and see a student being belittled by another." He then made his way into towards the Great Hall.

'Huh, nice guy.' Ranma thought to herself.

'Yeah,' Laira answered back, 'And he stopped you killing that boy.'

Ranma rolled her eyes in response. 'I wouldn't have killed him. Maimed him a little, but not kill him.' From time to time throughout the last nine years, she would sometimes come across someone who would think of her as a 'non-human'. It was something that she really hated, because it meant she was basically being looked down upon as a second-class citizen, or thought of as someone who lacked intelligence. Of course, it wasn't as bad as the results she got from non-magical, normal people if she ended up walking into certain places. Hearing people scream 'monster' or 'demon' as they ran around in terror wasn't really a good thing, and neither was getting pelted with random hard objects.

A strong odor quickly reached the cat-girl's nose, and it wasn't long until everyone else in the vicinity started to smell it as well. 'The prank must have worked.' Ranma thought after identifying the smell as a strong combination of pickle juice and other unfavorable smells. Sure enough, Argus Filch - his face a mask of fury - marched on by with a furious look on his face as he glared at every one of the students in the halls.

'I doubt Mrs. Norris will go anywhere around him for a while.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A bell chime at 9AM signaled both the end of breakfast and the start of the first class of the day. For Ranma, the first class of that day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, located on the first floor of the school. As such, finding her way to the classroom wasn't all that difficult, but that didn't mean that she didn't come across any kind of obstacle in her way to class. The door to the classroom refused to open, and it wouldn't open unless she tickled it in the right spot.

"You can't be serious." Ranma said as she glared at the non-budging door. "Why do I have to tickle you?"

The door answered back in a mirthful voice. "Because it has been quite some time since anyone has tickled me, and I miss that wondrous feeling. Of course, I forget just where I am ticklish, so you'll have to search it out."

Gosaria was about ready to reach out and do just that, but was stopped in doing so by a hand from the redhead. "But it could be fun." She whined with a visible pout.

"How else are we going to get to the classroom?" Another girl asked in annoyance as a boy next to her mentioned about how they're going to be late on the first day.

"Sorry kiddies, but no laugh, no pass." The door replied in a sing-song voice.

"I think I hate this door." Draco said with a wrinkle of his nose. There was no way that he was going to do something as silly as tickle it. "Sis, I think you should do something."

Ranma lips broke out into an evil smirk as she cracked her knuckles. "That's exactly what I was thinking." She quickly put on a sickly sweet voice. "Mr. Door, if you don't let us pass, then I'm afraid that I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Oh, I'm _**REALLY**_ scared now." The door mocked. "What could a small child like you do?"

A moment later would find the door flying across the classroom and slamming against a wall on the other side, courtesy of a powerful punch from the small child that it had gleefully mocked. As it slid down the wall, Prof. Quirrel, shocked out of his gourd by nearly being hit by a flying door, ran up to the thing as it let out a soft mumble. "Monster…"

Turning his attention back to the entryway, the man in the turban watched as the first one to enter the room was the redheaded daughter of the Malfoy family. She was happily whistling a tune, but stopped as she turned her attention towards him and the door. Quirrel could have sworn that the wooden barrier next to him gave a fearful whimper at the look. Next into the room came the girl's brother and two larger boys, followed by a blonde girl with wide, shocked eyes. The rest of the class came a moment after, but they were all staring at the Malfoy daughter for some unknown reason.

"E- Excuse me, M- Miss Malfoy," He began as he stood straight up and walked over to the cat-girl, "But d- did you do th- this to the door?"

Ranma turned her head upwards towards the tall man. She couldn't help but notice the very strong smell of garlic that was present in the room, and she could also tell that there was some other kind of smell that was coming from the man's turban. She could tell that Laira, too, was able to catch it with her senses. 'Does this guy have a garlic obsession or something?'

'Maybe he likes to eat it?' Laira responded as she twitched her nose.

'I'd hate to smell this guy's breath.' The redhead returned before answering the teacher. "Yeah, the stupid thing wouldn't let us into the classroom, so I had to give it a small punch." The other students around her gave her an incredulous stare at the 'small punch' part. "I guess I probably should put it back in place."

Before Quirrell could say a word, the small cat-girl vanished from view and reappeared next to the banged up door. She quickly proceeded to lift the whimpering door up before vanishing for a second time and coming back into view at the entryway. Without missing a beat, she put the door in place before fixing up the hinges. Once finished, the girl returned to her spot in front of Quirrell.

"There, the door is all fixed." Ranma instantly noticed that she was receiving weird looks from just about everyone in the room except for her brother, Crabbe, and Goyle. "What? Was it something I said?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Wonder how long it'll take for it to get around the school.' Ranma thought as she recalled how much everyone was blabbering on before the start of class about what they had witnessed. A couple of inhabitants of the portraits in the room had also run out of their paintings; probably to start up a gossiping tree. It would have probably been a much better idea to not use her strength, or maybe she should have just walked right on through the door. It was just that she forgot that people around here wouldn't be used to her abilities.

All of her classmates seemed to be particularly wary of her at the moment, but you would think that they would have been used to seeing strange things by now. The only ones who weren't unnerved by her display of abilities were, of course, her brother, Crabbe, and Goyle. Interestingly enough, Gosaria actually found what she did to be amazing, and had no problems with sitting next to her and talking to her. This had managed to spark a small amount of interest in the cat-girl's mind regarding the blonde.

Once the Defense Against the Dark Arts class started, Ranma soon found that the class was basically a joke due to the teacher. Professor Quirrell stuttered almost every time he opened his mouth, and it basically took forever for him to get out a single paragraph. Not to mention that he looked like he was about to collapse almost any moment for some reason. The strong garlic odor of the classroom was also something that was clouding up her sense of smell, and she was certain that it would linger with her for a few hours after class.

"D- Defense Against Th- The Dark A- Arts," Quirrell began, "Is a s- s- subject that focuses on w- ways to defend o- oneself against the forces of darkness. Be they e- either spells cast b- by other wizards, to identifying th- those spells. L- Learning how to protect o- oneself against dark m- magical beasts and creatures is also an i- important aspect of the class."

Ranma lowered her head down against her table and gave a mental groan. She could have been learning countless things from Washu by now, but here she was, stuck in a class with an overly nervous and jittery loon who could hardly get a sentence out. Although, she couldn't help but wonder if the man's stuttering and nervousness was just a gimmick, because it didn't seem as if he was suffering any palpitations of the heart that would normally be associated with intense panic.

Of course, it could have just been her over-diagnosing things while the smell of garlic clouded her judgment and ability to concentrate properly. Laira had actually turned traitor a moment ago and abandoned her so that she could get away from the room. 'We'll see if I let you sleep in my bed tonight, young lady.'

'Aww, but momma!' Laira whined on the other end of their connection. 'You're just kidding, right?'

'We'll see.' Ranma said with an amused smirk as she half-listened to the stuttering fool ahead of her. Perhaps she would just have to make do with reading the text book instead of trying to listen to the man.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma's next class proved to be a little more interesting when compared to the previous one. It surprised the redhead to know that the class was actually taught by an elderly ghost who entered the class via phasing through the blackboard. After that, however, the ghostly professor merely went on to start droning about history. He didn't really bother to say a word to the students or anything. He just started spouting off what he had within his lecture notes.

The class was incredibly dull and boring due to the fact that Prof. Binns didn't ask questions or try and get the class involved with the subject at hand. However, for Ranma, it was better than the previous one she had to sit through. Binns didn't stutter or act like he was going to collapse, nor did he accidentally forget things he was going to say. He may have droned on and on, but he still provided information to learn from.

"One of the greatest magic users in history," Prof. Binns began, "Was a woman who had managed to become famous around the world at an incredibly young age. She was also feared by many because of her power, but was not a dark sorceress. She had many nicknames that people referred to her as: The Enemy of All Who Live, one who even a dragon would run away from, and the Bandit Killer."

Ranma's eyes snapped open at what the old ghost was saying. 'No, it can't be who I think it is.'

"Her name was Lina Inverse. However, she was much better known by her title of Lina the Pink Sorceress."

The use of 'Pink Sorceress' caused the young redheaded cat-girl's eye to twitch violently. ''Better known as' my ass. Who the hell was the wise guy who started spreading that crap around?' The Pink Sorceress was indeed a title of Lina Inverse's that came from being a member of the Sorcerer's Guild, but it was a title that embarrassed her to no end, and so she went to great lengths to hide that fact. As such, it must have been revealed to the populace after Lina had died. 'Wonder what Lina's portrait would have to say about this. She'd probably have a fit.'

Professor Binns didn't go into too much detail in regards to information about the late Inverse, but he did mention about how she lived in a time when humans were fully capable of performing magic wandless, and that Lina was instrumental in helping the advancement of magic throughout the world. At least, until sometime after her death when a mysterious event happened that managed to severely limit the magical capabilities of humans.

Beyond that, it was also mentioned that most text on Lina Inverse's life was missing, and that many records regarding her family line were also lost, or just partially known and fragmented.

'I wonder what could have caused that to happen.' Ranma thought as she listened intently to the lesson. It was neat to hear the history of the magical world, and she was curious to know just how humans lost the greater amount of their magical potential. To the student of Washu, it was an incredible mystery that would need to somehow be solved for the sake scientific research. Of course, since it didn't seem to be documented, it would have most likely been lost knowledge. 'There's probably something out there.'

Turning her attention to Gosaria, the cat-girl couldn't help but sweat-drop at seeing the blonde ignore the entire lecture as she happily went about making odd little doodles on a piece of paper. Just what could be going through the girl's mind to make her draw a bear's head on a fish's body with octopus tentacles, a mustache, and a top hat, accompanied by a bearded pumpkin that was smoking from a pipe? Ranma was about to open her mouth, but quickly decided that it was probably a better idea to not ask and went back to listening.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once the second class of the day had ended at a little after 11AM, Ranma was happy to note that it was now time for a lunch break. It made her even happier to note that classes wouldn't start again until 1PM. That meant that after her meal, she could enjoy a quick nap. Her stomach could be heard growling in anticipation for food as she quickly made her way down to the Great Hall. Along the way, however, her ears managed to pick up a certain topic that was being spread about by the other students.

"There's the cat-girl." A whisper could be heard. "Are you sure that she really did punch a door across the room? She's so small."

"I heard that she apparated a few times." Someone else mentioned.

"Is she even human?"

"Do you think she also purrs or chases mice?" The question caused the redhead's eye to develop a twitch as she listened to a fifth-year boy. "I wonder if she'd allow someone to pet her. Oh, maybe she even cleans herself with her tongue."

Ranma's head snapped into the direction of the boy who said that. She wouldn't have really cared all that much about the rumor mill if they had just stuck to talking about her abilities or what she could do. However, embarrassing thoughts such as those were not things she could tolerate, and would need to be rectified immediately.

The fifth-year, a tall boy with wavy light-brown hair, quickly noticed that he had managed to attract the attention of the cat-girl he was just whispering about, and he nearly pissed himself when he saw the evil, pain-promising look in her eyes. He was going to turn around and try to make himself scarce, but instantly found that a small arm had draped itself over his shoulder.

"Now where do you think you're going, Mr. 'Does she clean herself with her own tongue?'" Ranma had instantly teleported over to the tall boy, and was currently floating in the air with her head resting on his shoulder. A smirk could be seen on her lips as she sensed the fear coming from the boy. She could also tell that all the other students in the corridor were shocked at what she had just done. "It's not a smart thing to ask those kind of embarrassing questions, because someone just might take offense to them, and might react in a rather unfavorable way." To emphasize her point, the small redhead flexed her hands to make her more visible. "There's just no telling what could happen if that were to happen. The person you offended could very well use her sharp claws in retaliation."

"I," The boy began as he broke out in a sweat, "I'm sorry for what I said. Please don't hurt me."

Ranma vanished before reappearing next to him and giving off a hearty laugh. "I'm just kidding, man!" She announced as she gave him a few hard slaps to the back. "You should have seen the look on your face as I was doing that. Your heart was going so fast that it seemed like it was going to explode." Her loud laughter dwindled down to an amused giggle as she walked away from the petrified boy. Hopefully her actions had managed to squelch out that rumor from getting around.

"Lina!" A voice shouted out. Recognizing it as belonging to Hermione, the redhead glanced ahead to see the bushy-haired girl walking towards her.

"Morning, Hermione." Ranma greeted with a wave. "Didja get through your morning classes alright?"

Hermione quickly nodded in response. "Yes, Herbology seems like it might be fun, but I think I might enjoy Transfiguration the most. I can't wait until we can advance to the more difficult transfiguring lessons, because changing a match into a needle is too easy." The statement earned her a few looks from some fellow classmates who were walking by. "Oh, but Lina, there are some weird rumors about you flying about. People are saying that you punched a door clear across the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Yeah, she did." Gosaria said as she appeared next to the duo. "It was really amazing too. First the door was like 'Rah, you can't pass unless you tickle me', and I was going to, but then Lina stopped me by saying 'no, that's silly'. Some others were worried, but Lina's brother told her to do something. Lina was then like 'Mr. Door, let us pass, because I might otherwise have to hurt you' in a cute voice. Then the door was being mean and taunted her by saying 'what can someone small like you do', but then she smirked and said 'this' before giving a fast punch that sent the mean door flying." The blonde stopped so that she could catch her breath. "I wonder if the door is still scared. It did seem to be crying."

As Hermione stared at the girl in an attempt to figure out what she had said, Ranma merely gave a simple shrug. "What she said. The door was being a jerk, so I punched it open."

"You understood that?" The brown-haired girl asked with an odd look.

"Pretty much." Ranma simply said.

Gosaria extended a hand towards Hermione and smiled. "I'm Gosaria Negash."

The bushy-haired girl blinked for a moment before accepting the handshake. "Hermione Granger." She then glanced back at her redheaded friend. "But how did you punch the door down, and is what I'm hearing about you apparating true?" She had to ask someone what apparition was, and was amazed to hear that it was basically teleportation. However, she was also told that it was extremely complex and required a license.

"I'm stronger than I look." The cat-girl answered as her tail swished in annoyance. She hated being small, because it always caused people to underestimate her abilities. "And yeah, that's true as well, but it's less apparition and more of my own ability." The redhead blinked out of existence before re-appearing at Hermione's side. "It's pretty handy."

"That's amazing. What else can you do?"

"Lots of things, but you'll probably see soon enough." Information seemed to fly around at top speeds, and so if enough people saw her doing something, it'd be around the entire school in no time. She was brought out of her reverie when her stomach started to growl. "Sorry, gotta go eat before I collapse." Without another word, the cat-girl vanished from her spot near the two girls.

"I wish I could do that." Hermione commented as she thought about how convenient being able to teleport would be. Maybe she would look into apparition and see if she could learn how it was done.

"I wish I had a tail." Gosaria said with a tilt of her head. "A monkey tail, because then I could hang upside down from things. That'd be so bloody awesome."

The brown-haired girl next to her could only stare in total bewilderment. While she could understand the reasoning in that a tail would be an interesting thing to have, she still couldn't understand why the girl seemed so strange.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma yawned as she made her way into the classroom to her next class. After she had finished eating lunch, the diminutive redhead ventured outside and had found a nice tree to take a nap next to. She had managed to get in a nice hour-long nap before being woken up by both Laira and Gosaria, so that she would know that the next class would be starting. Apparently, Gosaria was looking for her and ran into Laira, who was able to easily sense out the redhead's location.

Upon entering the Transfiguration classroom, the cat-girl caught sight of the raven-haired witch in green robes that was in charge of the sorting the day before. As she sat behind her desk, she gave everyone that entered the class a pointed look that fit well with her severe-looking attitude. Her hair was tied back into a tight bun, and her square spectacles rested at the end of her nose. To Ranma, the woman looked like a very stern librarian who would like nothing more than to snap at you for being too loud.

Once everyone was in there seats and the bell rang, the woman stood up from her chair and made her way to the front of the desk. "I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be the one who shall be teaching you about Transfiguration." Her stern expression didn't face as she looked around the class. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous form of magic that you will ever learn during your stay at Hogwarts. If anyone is seen messing around in my classroom, you will be ordered to leave and never come back."

'She's really strict.' Laira noted from her position on Ranma's head. 'I'd hate to make her mad.'

'Yeah, but this class could be really interesting.' The redhead answered as she watched the woman effortlessly turn her desk into a large pig, before quickly returning it back to normal. Glancing around the classroom, she noted that everyone else seemed to be interested in the subject as well, and was ready to get started.

However, everyone was disappointed to know that before they could do anything, they would have to copy down a bunch of complicated notes that none of them really understood. Because she had already read the Transfiguration text book, Ranma understood some of the symbols and graphs that they had to copy down, but there were still several bits and pieces that weren't found in the text that she didn't know. 'All this for just magically changing something into another thing?'

Finally, after they finished copying down all of the notes, they were each given a match and instructed to change them into needles. It didn't matter if they couldn't successfully get it right, because it was just their first lesson.

Ranma thought for a moment as she pulled out her wand. In the long run, she really didn't need to use it, thanks to the fact that her internal body already acted as its own magical medium. However, as she really wasn't looking forward to gaining anymore attention to herself for the day, she felt that refraining from doing any wandless magic would be a good thing.

So, without anymore hesitation, the diminutive redhead placed the tip of her wand to the match, gave it a tap as she sent mana coursing through it, and willed it to change. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and Ranma was about to curse in disappointment. Before she could, though, her heterochromatic eyes watched in glee as it instantly changed into the needle that she wanted.

"Yay, I did it!" She shouted on accident as she tossed her arms up into the air in celebration. When she realized that she had accidentally said it aloud, Ranma slapped a hand to her mouth as she glanced around. Noticing that everyone now had their eyes on her, the redhead's ears flattened as her cheeks gained a tinge of pink. Wasn't it just a moment ago that she said that she didn't want anymore attention on her for the day?

Prof. McGonagall appeared next to her desk in order to closely inspect her work. "Good work, Miss Malfoy. It seems that you are the first in your class to accomplish the task." The elderly witch proceeded to pick up the needle and show it to the class. "This is how it should look once you have properly transfigured your match. It should be perfectly silver and pointy; even better if you can get the eye as well." Setting the needle back down in front of the redhead, she gave a smile that Ranma thought looked pretty odd coming from someone so strict-looking. "Five points to Slytherin for doing an excellent job."

Ranma's ears instantly perked up as a smile appeared on her lips at the fact that she accomplishing something before anybody else could. "Thanks," She said as she felt her pride swell up. She could feel a couple of glares directed at her, but honestly couldn't be bothered to care in the slightest.

By the end of the period, only Gosaria - surprisingly - had managed to successfully transfigure her match into a needle, while everyone else either managed a miniscule change or none at all. With nothing else to do, Ranma became so bored waiting for the class to end that she took to lazily tapping the needle with her wand and changing it back and forth between it and a match. In one instance, she had even managed to change it into a straight pin before transfiguring it back again.

'Finally,' Ranma thought as the bell signaling the end of class rang, 'I thought I'd never get out of there.' All in all, she liked the subject, but it just seemed too easy. Where was the challenge? If they were going to spend the whole class working on one thing, it might as well be something that should take the whole period to do. Hell, why couldn't anybody else transfigure the match correctly? If Gosaria was able to do it, then shouldn't everyone else have managed to do it? 'Aw jeez, I wish Washu would have given me some work to do while I was here. At this rate, I'm going to suffer from boredom.'

'It's only the first day, momma.' Laira answered with a yawn. 'Maybe they're just going easy on everyone because of it?'

'Maybe,' Ranma said as she scratched the base of her ponytail. Perhaps she'd wait a few days before asking Washu to send her stuff. There's just no way that a school about magic could stay this boring, right?

The last class of the day was Charms, and Ranma was interested to find out that the professor for Charms was none other than the tiny man from this morning. It was somewhat amusing to see that he had to stand up on a large stack of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, but the diminutive redhead could understand just how bothersome it was to not be able to reach something. If she didn't have the ability to levitate, she would have probably had to use footstools and other similar objects a lot more.

Once class had started, the old wizard proceeded to give everyone a large smile. After he took role, he began by introducing himself. "Good afternoon, class," He said in a squeaky voice, "My name is Professor Flitwick, and I shall be your Charms teacher. The subject of Charms consists of a wide variety of spells. There's no true category, and so you shall all be dealing with a myriad of spells during your years here at Hogwarts" He gave a quick look around before continuing. "I would suggest that you also follow along by reading your text book, _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_. Most of the spells that you will learn in this class could be found within the reading material, but the wand movements would be much easier to learn in class than from reading."

'Maybe I'll read some more tonight.' Ranma thought with a yawn. She had started to read the book during her month at home, but since she had so many other books to read up on, she never really got too far into it.

"There are two simple spells that I shall be teaching you today. You will likely find them to be two of the most used spells that you will use throughout your magical lives. The first," Flitwick gave his wand a quick flick, "Is Lumos." The end of his wand lit up with a bright light. "You will use this the most when you are in areas with little to no light. It is also a good defense against the Gytrash."

"Gytrash?" One of the students asked.

"Yes," Flitwick said with a nod, "It's a creature that takes the form of a ghostly dog with a forked tail that comes out at night. They are very fast and dangerous, and this is why students are recommended against being outside during after-hours. Gytrash are known to roam around the Hogwarts grounds on occasion. They are, however, very sensitive to light, and a simple Lumos is enough to scare them away. This is why I am teaching you this spell first, because if you ever do find yourself out at night and encounter one, you would have a way to protect yourself."

'He's gotta be joking.' Ranma thought in disbelief. However, from what she could tell, the man was serious. 'What the hell kind of school is this to have dangerous creatures roaming around where students can get to?'

'I don't know,' Laira answered with a shiver, 'But I don't think I like it here anymore.'

'Lai, don't worry.' The redhead answered as she gave her daughter a pat on the head. 'Nothing is going to harm you here. If anything tries to hurt you, I'll flambé its ass before it even gets the chance.'

After they were given the opportunity to try and cast Lumos, it only took a brief moment before Ranma managed to be the first to successfully perform the spell. To her, it was exactly like the Lighting spell that she had used countless times over the last nine years. Her quick casting of the spell had earned her a surprised squeak from Professor Flitwick, and five more points to her house for being the first to successfully do the spell. She was then given the second spell, Nox. This one was used to quickly cancel out Lumos.

'Wait, that's it?' Ranma asked herself in annoyance. The only spells that they were being taught that day were a rip-off of Lighting and a way to cancel it out? The least the professor could have done was give her another spell to work on. 'Boring…' She thought as she pulled out _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_ and quickly started to read it. At least Washu would have given her something else to do if she finished an assignment or task of her's too quickly. 'Hmm… Bluebell Flame looks interesting.' It was fire that could warm something up, but the flames wouldn't burn or cause damage to anything.

By the end of the period, nearly everyone had managed to successfully cast the Lumos spell, and for those who couldn't, Flitwick recommended that they keep on practicing until they finally got it to work. With the end of Charms, it was the end of the first day of classes, and that meant that dinner would very soon be starting in the Great Hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After she had finished dinner, Ranma quickly made her way back to the Slytherin common room. A smell was bothering her, and she knew exactly what it was; she needed a bath. After-all, she hadn't had one since the day before yesterday, and so she was badly in need of one.

'Err- Where was the bath located again?' She asked herself as she scratched the back of her head. She remembered being _**TOLD**_ where it was, but she didn't remember the location. She quickly decided to stop an older Slytherin girl and ask.

"Just keep going down the dorm steps until you come to the right door."

"Thanks." Ranma said as she made her way down the flight of stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes

The first day of school and Ranma has already made an impression.


	8. Water We Doing Again?

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to Lawra and the people of Fukufics for helping pre-read.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 8

The Slytherin girls' bathing area was an impressive sight. The floor and walls were made out of a smooth emerald green stone. On the walls were numerous silhouettes of snakes that were animated enough to wiggle around. Scattered around the room were various pillars that extended upwards to reach the ceiling. It was possible that it may have had a minor charm on it, because it seemed a lot farther away and spacious than it really was

In the middle of a chamber was a built-in pool-like bath that was about 20 to 25 meters in length. The large faucet, found on the eastern side of the pool, was shaped like a large, coiled silver snake with its mouth wide open and its fangs poised for an attack. Towels, wash cloths, and various other bathing supplies that included soap and shampoo could be seen stacked neatly on a table near the wall closest to the entrance.

As she removed her clothes and went to work collecting some of the bath supplies, Ranma allowed herself a moment to wonder about whether or not the Slytherin bathing chamber was more amazing than the one back home at the Malfoy mansion, or if the one at home was better than this one.

"I like the bath house at Tenchi's the most." Laira said in response to the cat-girl's inner musings. "The trees and moving water are way better to look at than boring walls, and we could see the sky, too."

"And I think I'm already starting to get tired of both green and snakes." Ranma said as she poked the snake-shaped faucet. Just how much of an obsession did the founder of Slytherin have for the things anyway?

"Oh, but Lina, snakes can be such majestic creatures."

"If you consider unhinging their jaws and swallowing their food whole to be majestic, then-" The cat-girl's words died as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She knew that voice. Sure, it has been years since she last heard it, but there was no way she could forget the last time it passed by her ears. 'It can't be.' She said as she turned her head ever so slowly to the side.

"Hi!" Xellos announced happily as he waved to the small redhead.

"YOU!" Ranma shouted angrily as she pointed directly at him. It was then that she realized just where they were, as well as her current state of dress. After a small eep, she quickly wrapped the towel around her body. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Laira, knowing just who the person was, hissed as her fur stood on end. She may not have been with Ranma at the time, but she had managed to learn of him via the memories. As such, she did not trust this Xellos at all, and found herself disliking him even more due to the inhuman scent that was coming from the purple-haired man.

"Aww," The mazoku responded with a frown, "Is that any way to treat an old friend? I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"You're right, how rude of me." Ranma said as orange energy sprung up around her hands. "Let me show you how joyous I am. This is for knocking me out and abandoning me in the damn forest!" Pushing her hands forward, twin beams of energy flew forward at top speeds towards the object of her ire. The resulting explosion caused some dust to kick up, and the diminutive redhead couldn't help but smirk as she thought about the sight of a smoking purple-haired bastard lying upon the ground.

The smirk vanished when the dust disappeared to reveal that Xellos was completely fine. In fact, he had completely dodged her attack and was merely wiping dust off of his clothes. The wall behind him, however, wasn't quite so lucky. It was sporting a rather large hole thanks to her attack.

"Oh my," Xellos said with a chuckle, "It seems as if your aim is a little on the rusty side. You'd better get to work on fixing that." A punch to the face sent him flying into the wall. "You're definitely stronger than in your previous life, I see."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ranma asked as an energy sword materialized in her hand. Next to her, Laira's forehead gem was glowing to show that she had no problems at the idea of firing off a beam of her own.

The purple-haired mazoku raised his hands in a warding gesture. "I was just curious to see how you were doing. We haven't seen each other since-" He dodged a sword swing towards his neck.

"You abandoned me in those woods, right?"

"Ah, but if I took you to the Masaki home myself, that would have raised too many questions."

"And a lost, two-year-old foreign girl with an English accent carrying a letter for a universal scientific genius doesn't?" Her ears perked up at the faint sound of voices. Turning her head, she watched as a group of girls walked on through the doorway. One of them glanced her way and stopped talking. The others - curious as to what was wrong - followed the girl's gaze towards her.

"Err…" Ranma let out as she turned her head to look back at… an empty hole with no sign of Xellos. Nobody else knew that she had just faced an aggravating as all hell demon bent on annoying the hell out of her. All they knew was that the strange cat-girl, who was at the source of all of the current rumors, was standing in front of a huge hole in the wall with some kind of weird energy sword pulsating in her hand.

"Hey, isn't that her?" One of the girls asked.

"It is! What's that thing in her hands? It looks like some kind of magic sword or something."

"Forget that," An older girl whispered, "What did she do to the wall? It looks like she attacked it."

"Her eyes are all red too." Another girl observed. "I saw her earlier, and her eyes were different. The upper half was blue while the lower half was red."

"Maybe she's touched in the head and likes to randomly destroy things."

"No, wait," Ranma shouted as she frantically waved her arms. She did _**NOT**_ want people to go about thinking she was mentally unstable. "There was a cockroach; a really big cockroach!" When that caused the girls to whisper amongst themselves even more, the redhead proceeded to sigh and hang her head in defeat.

It was at that moment when Gosaria appeared next to her. The blonde glanced up at the hole before tilting her head to the side. "Didja get it?" She asked. It was obvious that she was talking about the imaginary cockroach.

Ranma decided to give her the simple answer. "No…"

"Then it must be some super magical bug if it could survive that." The blonde said with wide eyes. She then watched as her friend raised her hand towards the damaged wall. A second later, a faint glow appeared it, and almost immediately, the emerald green stone expanded to fill in the hole. Once finished, the area appeared as good as new, as if there never was any damage at all. "Wow, how did you do that?"

"Wasn't hard," The cat-girl said with a shrug. "It was just a way of manipulating the atomic structure of the minerals within the stone to force it to expand and fill in the destroyed area. It's a simple matter of tapping into one of the chief natural elements via the use of the Shamanistic realm of magic, and combining both a magical and scientific understanding of how to achieve the desired effect."

Gosaria - along with the other girls in the chamber - could only blink at the redhead in confusion at the long-winded answer that, to them, made no sense at all. "Umm… what?"

Sighing in defeat, Ranma hung her head for the second time. "I can take control of, and do amazing things with, natural elements such as fire, water, air, and earth."

"Oh, I get it." The blonde said with a smile. "You used magic to make the wall fill itself up."

"Yeah…" Ranma answered while scratching the base of her ponytail as her eyes returned to normal. Ignoring the whispering of the girls, she made her way to the edge of the water and sat down. After removing the tie from her hair, she got to work washing both it and her ear and tail fur. To her left, Laira was busy with washing her own fur.

"Why do you bring your pet with you everywhere you go?" Pansy asked with a frown. "Don't you realize how silly it looks to be carrying a tiny creature with you all of the time?" It was surprising that none of the teachers called her out on it. "I really hope that it is potty trained."

Laira gave the girl an indignant glare before turning her head and glancing up at her mother. "Momma, I really don't like her, so can I bite her?"

"I don't think that'd be a very healthy choice, Lai. There's no telling what you could come down with after biting pug nose over there." Of course, it wasn't possible for the cabbit to get sick, but nobody else needed to know that.

Pansy's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment at the insult. It didn't help that a bunch of other girls were giggling at her expense. "Yeah, well, what's this about that thing calling you her mum? Did you give birth to it or something?" Silence reigned as everyone stared at her. "What?"

"That was lame." Gosaria said to the thoroughly embarrassed girl.

"I think it calling Lina 'mum' is adorable." Daphne Greengrass, one of the Slytherin girls in Ranma's year, said with a giggle. A few of the others couldn't help but agree with her. Sure, the cat-girl weirded all of them out for various reasons, but that didn't mean that they couldn't see that both her and the rabbit thing had a very close relationship.

Ranma smirked as she watched Pansy give her a silent glare before going back to cleaning herself off. 'That girl could be fun.' The redhead thought as she pointed at the water. Everyone was shocked to see a jet of liquid fly out from the bath, and watched as she directed it to her own head so that she could wash out the shampoo.

"Oohohohohohohohooo!" The shrill laugh caused everyone in the chamber to nearly jump out of their skins, and for the cat-girl's fur and hair to stand up on end. "So the rumors are indeed true! The puny cat-girl has access to some impressive abilities."

Ranma instantly hopped to her feet before turning around. 'Oh hell, don't tell me it's that gir-' Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran face-first into the girl. Well, it was more like she ran face-first into the girl's cleavage. "MMPH!" The cat-girl shouted as she waved her arms at a frantic pace while her tail shot straight out.

"Oh, it seems that a little kitten has found herself lost in the warmth and comfort that is provided by my glorious bosom. Not that I would blame you." The dark-haired girl said as she flipped her hair back and sighed dramatically. "They are but the epitome of womanhood, and I am aware of just how many are jealous of my fantastic body. Ooohohohoo!"

Ranma finally managed to push herself away from the older girl, and just as she was taking a step back, she found herself slipping on the bar of soap that was behind her. With a loud yelp, she fell backwards and into the water. The soap, meanwhile, shot up into the air before smashing into the dark-haired girl's face and knocking her to the ground.

"Ooowwww," The girl whined while getting back to her feet, "There's no need to be that jealous."

As her head resurfaced from the water, Ranma quickly shook the water from her hair. "Whaddaya mean jealous?" The event that had happened a moment ago was more than likely the single most embarrassing thing that had happened to the cat-girl in a long while. She strongly hoped that nobody who saw it got the wrong idea or anything.

"Ha, don't even try to deny it!" The girl shouted as she pointed directly at the water-logged redhead. "It's obvious that you planned for that bar of soap to hit me in the face in an effort to damage my beauty. You only pretended to stumble backwards as part of your elaborate set-up to make it look like an accident. This is obviously due to you harboring jealousy over my body because yours is so small and flatter than a board."

"You're mental!" Ranma tossed back as she teleported out of the water and back onto the floor. "Why the hell would I be jealous over some top-heavy lunatic that I've never even met before?"

"My, my, jealousy really is an ugly thing." The dark-haired girl said as she flipped her hair back for the second time.

"What?"

"And besides, we have met before. Remember the train? We briefly caught sight of each other when you were looking out the window. It was at that moment that you probably noticed how beautiful I am." She placed a finger to her eye as if to wipe away a tear. "Please do not be jealous of me. I would gladly share if I could, but that is an impossibility."

Ranma's eye twitched violently as she listened to the girl and watched her make ridiculous pose after pose. "You idiot!" She shouted as she pulled out a paper fan and gave the girl a hard whack upside the head. "What in the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

"Owie." The strange girl said as she placed her hands to the top of her head. "Oh my, so it seems that you are afraid of me."

A vein appeared on the cat-girl's forehead as her teeth clenched. The person in front of her was really trying her patience. Just where the hell did she get the idea that she was afraid of her from? "I am not afraid of you. I just want you to leave me alone."

"You want me to leave you alone?" The other girl asked with a tilt of her head.

"Yes!"

"Then why did you start the confrontation? I mean, if you don't want to be bothered by me, then why did you come to me?"

"WHHHAAAATTTT?" Ranma shouted in total fury as her eyes changed back to crimson. "THAT'S IT! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" A glow surrounded the cat-girl as she raised her arms. At the same time, a ring of light appeared under the older girl. "Dill Brand!"

Without warning, the floor under the dark-haired girl exploded and sent her flying upwards into the air. Once she reached the apex of her journey, she came crashing back down to the ground in a painful heap.

"Hmm… I wonder if I overdid it a little." Ranma said as she scratched her ear. Off to the side, the other girls in the bathing chamber stared at the redhead in total fear. She had just used some kind of powerful wandless spell to hurt or possibly kill someone.

Her victim quickly jumped to her feet. "Ooohohohoo, so you thought you could do me in, eh? Well, I'll have you know that the great Nashigi Scaliston is made of stronger stuff, so putting me down won't be so-" She was instantly charred by a large jet of fire. "Easy…" Nashigi let out a puff of smoke as she fell backwards and to the floor.

"You wanna say something else?" The cat-girl growled out as she walked up to the downed girl and put her foot on the girl's stomach.

"Owie…"

Nodding to herself, Ranma walked away from her and returned to the bath to finish washing off and try to enjoy a few moments to herself. It was an easy thing to accomplish since most of the girls seemed too afraid to talk to her. The only ones who weren't were Laira and Gosaria. The latter of the two making the redhead wonder why she wasn't scared of her or anything.

'Ah well, why should I be complaining?'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Lina."

Ranma's sleeping face scrunched up as she felt a finger poke her in the cheek. Giving it a lazy whap with her hand, she turned to her side. As she did, she ended up pulling her covers and exposed her crimson tail.

"Lina Malfoy." The voice repeated as a finger gave another poke to the sleeping redhead.

The cat-girl's ears twitched in annoyance at each poke, but she continued to sleep. "Mmm…" She let out as she batted the hand away again. "G'way, tryin' ta shleep." A small snore could be heard from her. "Haddock gettin' 'way… come back here fishy." Ranma's arms reached out in front of her to mimic her eventful dream chase.

Nashigi crossed her arms in annoyance. Her plan to sneak into the first-year dorm room and wake the girl up for a talk wasn't going well. 'This girl can really sleep.' She thought as her eyes lingered on the cat-girl's swishing tail. Reaching out, she wrapped her hand around the tail and gave a light squeeze. "Hey Lina, rise and shine."

"Nya!" The sleeping girl cried as her arms were brought close to her chest. An obvious blush spread over Ranma's face in response to the slight squeeze tugging of her tail. Her ears, meanwhile, flattened completely against the top of her head as a few faint, unintelligible and embarrassed-sounding words came out of her mouth.

"Liiiiiinnnnnaaaaa…" Nashigi called as she gave a few more squeeze-tugs. She also used her other hand to tickle the small tufts of light-colored fur that could be seen just on the outside of Ranma's ears. "Wake up!"

The redhead's eyes softly fluttered open. As she lay there and attempted to get her brain working, she realized that there were three things very wrong. The first was that someone was being incredibly annoying and had woken her up. The second was that the same person was toying around with the sensitive fur found around the inside of her ears. The final thing that was wrong with the situation was that someone was doing an incredibly good job at fondling her tail in a way that she _**REALLY**_ didn't like. This then led to an extra realization and discovery of hers that caused the blush on her cheeks to take up her whole face.

Ever so slowly, she turned her head in an effort to see just who it was that she was going to kill for her sudden embarrassing predicament. When she saw that the culprit was Nashigi, her eyes took on a blank look. "You…"

"Good morning, Lina!" Nashigi greeted with a smile. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you that I completely understand why you did what you did last night. It's obvious from our discussion that you want to be friends with me, and it sounds like a fantastic idea. I'm a third year, and that means I could help you with all sorts of things. We'll be great friends, don't you think so?"

"My tail…" Ranma said as she flexed her hands and allowed her sharp fingernails to extend about a centimeter while her teeth clenched.

"Oh, yes," The older girl began, "It's such a lovely thing. It's just so long and soft." She started to rub the tail against her cheek.

For a moment, there was silence. What came next, however, was total and complete violence containing painful screams, angry shouting, and explosions that managed to wake everyone else in the dorm up.

"Gosaria, let go of me before I send you flying!" Ranma shouted as the blonde attempted to hold onto her arms. "I'm gonna kill that psycho banshee, and then I'm gonna kill her again!"

"Ooohohohohohooo!" Nashigi laughed with a hand to the side of her face. "You're such a child, Lina. Just because I was squeezing your tail does not give you the reason to kill me."

"YES IT DOES!" The cat-girl bellowed. "My tail is sensitive, so it gives me every right to choke the life out of someone if they manhandle it!"

"Oh my," The dark-haired girl said, "Is that the reason why you were blushing and making so many cute sounds when I had hold of it?"

This caused the smaller girl's face to turn as red as a tomato. Glancing around, she saw that all of the other girls were giggling at her plight. Quickly pulling away from Gosaria, she lunged straight for Nashigi's throat. "DIE!"

"Ah, momma, don't kill her!" Laira shouted frantically. She understood the outright ferocity towards the larger girl, but didn't think killing her would solve anything. Here's hoping that Nashigi could survive long enough for her to calm down.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Ranma asked through clenched teeth as she and Gosaria made their way towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Her question was, of course, directed towards Nashigi as the older girl followed close by. This was probably the first time in a very long while since she had managed to get so pissed off. She had actually considered the idea of pulling out a friggin Dragon Slave of all things. 'Please don't tell me that I'm going to start acting like Lina Inverse.'

"Ooohohohohoho!" Nashigi's laugh caused everyone in the halls to stiffen as chills ran down their spines. Most of the older students who were familiar with both the girl and the laugh could only silently wish the small cat-girl luck in dealing with her. "Silly Lina," The raven-haired girl said as she gave the redhead a pat on the head, "We agreed to be friends, of course. Why else would I keep following the both of you?"

"WHEN DID I AGREE TO THAT?" Ranma shrieked as her eyes briefly flashed golden.

Gosaria raised her hands in an effort to try and defuse the situation. "Lina, please try and calm down. Maybe it won't be all that bad to be friends with her." The statement earned her an incredulous look from the cat-girl. "Maybe the both of you just got off on the wrong ear?"

"It's foot, Gosaria, not ear."

"You sure?" Nashigi asked. "Because I think ear sounds better." The raven-haired girl couldn't help but blink. "Lina, why are you smashing your head against the wall?"

After managing to make a rather large dent in the wall with her head, and inadvertently causing a bunch of people to think that she wasn't all there, Ranma quickly made her way to the Great Hall to try and enjoy breakfast. As she got there, she met up with Hermione, who made a mention of how she seemed to be able to make such 'interesting' friends. The bushy-haired girl had also gone about asking her if some of the newer rumors about the redhead were true.

Ranma wasn't at all amused that certain aspects regarding her tail had managed to get out into the general populace, and she had an inkling as to just who let the information slip. It was one of the two embarrassing secrets that she always tried to keep hidden. The other was how she became weak and purred whenever someone scratched her behind the ears. It was embarrassing enough that her family, the residents of the Masaki house, the royal family of Jurai, Airi, the Tendos, and Nodoka knew about the second, and almost every one of them had taken advantage of it at least once. If the whole school found out, she would likely have to start breaking some bones.

'Maybe I could get myself expelled.' If she did, she could go back to Washu and continue her studies. She was sure that her parents would understand that her decision was based off of the fact that she didn't _**NEED**_ to be here. After-all, she was already much more capable than everyone else around her.

In her musings, the redhead caught sight of Pansy sending her an overly smug look. 'Then again…' Ranma thought as she made a hidden motion with her finger. Almost instantly, a gust of wind burst through the Great Hall and lifted up the other girl's skirt. The now embarrassed girl's face became completely red as she attempted to quickly move over to the Slytherin table to sit down. 'I think I can definitely have some fun here.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Herbology was a rather boring class in Ranma's opinion. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, she had to make her way to Greenhouse One located behind the castle. The class was taught by a dumpy little witch named Professor Sprout. There, they had to learn about the various magical plants that were found all over the world, and were also taught about how to spot and deal with the dangerous ones. They actually didn't work with any plants, and classes basically consisted of Professor Sprout giving lectures and them reading out of the required text book.

Ranma's most favorite subject yet had to have been Astronomy. It was shame that the class was only held on one day a week around midnight. Still, it allowed her an excellent time to gaze at the stars. She was already very familiar with many of the stars they had to identify, and she knew the movement of the planets by heart. Due to her extensive knowledge of the subject, Professor Sinistra quickly took a liking to her. In fact, the older witch had even decided to give her some extra work to do for extra credit and house points.

She was glad when Friday finally managed to come along, because it meant that she only had one class; a double period of Potions. After that, the rest of her day - along with the weekend - would be free. So far, all of her classes had stayed around the same easy and boring pace, and it was quickly starting to affect her. She hoped that with her free time coming up, she could get rid of the boredom by exploring some more of the school. Perhaps she would check out both that forbidden corridor and the forest. She was curious to know just why they were supposed to be so dangerous.

The Slytherins would be sharing the class with the Gryffindors, so that meant that she'd be able to meet up with Hermione. As Ranma entered the Potions classroom, she instantly took notice of all of the jars that contained various kinds of pickled animals. The room also had very little lighting, and so, to many, the place would seem to be very spooky. In fact, she could hear several quickened heartbeats in the room from people who were probably nervous and wondering what was going to happen.

After greeting Hermione, Ranma glanced around the room and quickly caught sight of the Potter boy in one of the seats two rows down. Her lips broke out into a smirk as she thought about an amusing way to greet the bespectacled boy. Turning to Hermione and Gosaria, she placed a finger to her lips before instantly disappearing. Both girls quickly wondered just what the redhead was going to do.

Harry couldn't help but notice how creepy the Potions classroom was. It was enough that the Hogwarts dungeons were dimly lit and cold, but seeing pickled animals floating in jars reminded him of a few of the horror movies he managed to see that mainly featured mad scientists that kept jars of preserved organs. Luckily, they were in a school of magic, and so the likelihood of running into some crazy scientist was completely non-existent.

As he glanced down at the top of the desk, he saw a pair of red, furry triangles suddenly poking out from the wood. Using his elbow, he poked at Ron sitting next to him. "Ron," He whispered, "Look at those. What do you think they are?"

"They look like… ears?" The freckled boy said as he reached out and gave one of the ears a slight poke. "How do you think they-" He couldn't get his question finished as a figure quickly burst up through the wood and caused the two boys to leap out of their chairs. The both of them blinked when they saw that it was just a certain red-headed cat-girl.

"Yo, Harry, what's up?" Ranma asked with a friendly smile and wave. She was sitting Indian style in mid air with her crimson tail swishing lazily behind her. Her eyes quickly caught sight of the younger Weasley sibling next to him. "And you too, Freckles."

Ron's ears turned pink in both embarrassment and anger, and it didn't help that there were some audible snickering going on in the room. "Who are you calling Freckles?" He asked in annoyance. "And what's the big idea of popping out of the table like that?" Never mind the fact that she DID somehow pop out through the table. Also, how was she floating?

The cat-girl gave a shrug. "I just wanted to say hi to Harry."

"By popping out of the desk and scaring the bloody hell out of us?"

"Yep," Ranma answered as she put on a curious look, "Was there any other way?" Her ears gave a quick twitch as she waited for an answer.

Ron gave her an incredulous look. "You really are mental."

"Oh c'mon Freckles, where's your sense of humor?"

"Stop calling me Freckles!" The redheaded boy said with a growl. He really wished that class would hurry up and start already so that the girl would go away.

As if on cue, the door to the classroom swung open to allow the teacher to walk in. Realizing this, Ranma gave a quick two-fingered salute to Harry before teleporting back to her seat. The action earned her a few shocked stares from both the Gryffindors and the teacher. The latter gave her a quick piercing and odd look before continuing to the front of the classroom. As she settled in her seat near Gosaria and Hermione, she noticed that her brother gave her a quick look of amusement in regards to the stunt that she had just pulled.

'Well, he does dislike both of them, so that makes sense.' Ranma thought as she turned her attention towards the class professor. He was a thin, sallow-skinned man with a large, hooked nose. His shoulder-length black hair was greasy, as if he had hardly ever washed it, and he had cold, black eyes that seemed to look on in perpetual contempt and loathing.

In fact, she noticed, he seemed to harbor a great dislike of Harry Potter. When he had gone over attendance, he instantly stopped at the Potter boy's name and chose that moment to make a snide remark about him being the newest _celebrity._ This, of course, got her brother and a few others to snigger out loud.

"For those of you who don't know," He said in a soft voice that managed to carry throughout the room, "I am Professor Snape, and I shall be teaching this class. You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making." His cold eyes swept around the room. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe that this is magic." His expression seemed to glaze over slightly. "I don't expect that you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldrons with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

'He really has it bad for the subject.' Ranma thought as she listened to his speech. To her, the subject of potions sounded a lot like chemistry; something that she was very familiar with thanks to Washu. She couldn't count how many times she had managed to be caught in some kind of explosion due to a chemical accident, or how many ingredients one had to memorize just to create something as simple as a soft drink. Perhaps she could get to like Potions. After-all, the man did say that it was basically a science. The redhead didn't realize that her tail was silently swishing behind her. Next to her, Hermione was sitting at the edge of her seat and looking desperate to prove herself.

"Potter!" Professor Snape suddenly shouted. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

'Draught of Living Death.' Ranma thought as she watched the bespectacled boy look completely lost. She had to tilt out of the way to dodge Hermione as the girl's hand shot straight up into the air. 'Sheesh, she could take someone's head off if she's not careful.'

"I don't know, sir." Harry said, much to Ranma's disappointment.

His lack of answer caused the greasy-haired man to sneer disdainfully. "Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything." He promptly ignored Hermione's waving hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

'The stomach of a goat.' Ranma thought as she watched Harry. She wanted to slap herself in the forehead when she saw that he also had no clue about that question. 'C'mon, you're embarrassing yourself here, and Hermione's arm is going to go flying off at this rate.'

"I don't know, sir." Harry answered, causing the cat-girl in the back of the class to clench her teeth in annoyance.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape sneered for the second time. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfs-bane?"

'They're the same thing.' The thought ran through Ranma's mind as she watched the boy at the front of the room. Once again, he was unable to provide any answer, and this forced the cat-girl to shake her head in complete annoyance. It was time to end this silly spectacle. "Adding powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood gives you a powerful sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death." The redhead said with her forehead resting in the palm of her hand. This caused everyone in the room to stare at her. "A bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat, and is able to cure you of most poisons. Monkshood and wolfs-bane are just different names for the exact same plant. It's all there in the first few chapters of the text books."

Hermione lowered her hand in disappointment, but gave her friend a large smile upon knowing that she actually took the time to read through her text books as well.

Snape's eyes immediately glanced towards Ranma's direction and gave her an appraising look. "You seem to be quite prepared, Miss Malfoy." The yellow-toothed man drawled out as he stroked his chin. "Tell me, what is another name for monkshood and wolfs-bane?"

"Aconite," Ranma said as she became alert, "Also known by other names such as leopard's bane, women's bane, Devil's helmet, and blue rocket. It's a potion ingredient belonging to the buttercup family of Ranunculaceae, to which includes over 250 species of Aconitum. The most common of which is the plant that we are talking about." The situation reminded her of when Washu would give her random verbal pop quizzes to see just how much of a subject she remembered. Something like this was not something that she'd allow herself to mess up on.

The whole class was silent as everyone stared at the cat-girl with wide eyes. Ranma kept her features as impassive as possible, and would not allow even the trace of a smirk to appear on her lips and ruin the calm demeanor that she had put up. It was rather difficult due to the fact that she had just managed to shock everyone in the class with her superb intelligence. After-all, she wasn't a student of Washu's for nothing.

"It seems that not everyone here is a dunderhead." Snape said as he continued to stroke his chin. "10 points to Slytherin for showing that you are ready for this class… unlike some people." He proceeded to glance around the room. "Well, isn't anybody going to copy it down?"

The class was soon separated into pairs and given the task of preparing a simple Boil-Cure Potion. Ranma quickly found herself paired up with Gosaria, and found that she had to keep a watchful eye on her so that she didn't accidentally toss in the porcupine quills while the cauldron was still on the fire. She quickly decided to be the one who was in charge of weighing and putting in the dried nettles while crushing snake fangs.

Gosaria, on the other hand, was in charge of stewing the horned slugs, because the redheaded cat-girl refused to touch the little devils out of disgust. She was actually impressed with how the blonde was doing, and thought for sure that there would have been more potential mistakes to be made on the girl's part. Sure, Gosaria almost put in the quills too early a couple times, but she managed to stop her before it happened.

As they worked on stirring the ingredients together, Snape, who swept around the room criticizing nearly everyone, praised them - mostly Ranma, though - on doing a fine job with the nettles and fangs. The redhead wasn't sure why, but it seemed as if the man was most fond of both her and Draco for some odd reason. 'Maybe he's friends with dad or something.' She thought with a frown as she hoped that it wasn't the case.

A loud hissing filled the classroom as clouds of acid green smoke filled the air. After following the cloud to its starting point, Ranma quickly found that it had come from Neville's area. She was surprised to see that the cauldron had completely melted into an unidentifiable blob as the potion seeped out and onto the floor. Wanting to get a better look of the situation, and not wanting to get her shoes eaten by the liquid pooling onto the floor, the diminutive redhead levitated up into the air to get a better look.

It was obvious that the pudgy boy was in agony. The messed up potion had managed to splash onto him, and large, red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. As the boy moaned in pain, Snape had snarled out an insult and pointed out the possible reason as to why the potion backfired like it did.

'Yeah, his luck definitely reminds me of Seina's whenever his wives aren't around.' Ranma thought as she watched Snape remove the spilled potion with just one wave of his wand. 'That looks like it could be handy.'

Once Neville was escorted out of the room to the hospital wing, and Snape took points away from Harry for rather odd reasoning, the class quickly went back to normal.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma made her way towards the Great Hall an hour later for lunch. She was accompanied by both Gosaria and Hermione as they climbed up the steps.

Hermione decided to choose that time to speak up. "It was amazing how you were able to answer with all of that extra information about Aconite, Lina. One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi never mentioned any of that."

"I don't think I could have answered any of those questions." Gosaria said with a shake of her head.

"It was one of the things I learned from Washu."

Hermione nodded upon remembering the redhead making mention of the teacher she had in Japan. "She must be a great teacher."

"She's the best. There isn't anybody else on Earth that even comes close to her intelligence." Ranma said with a serious look. 'Except for me, of course.'

'Momma…' Laira responded via their connection with a giggle. The cabbit was currently lounging lazily on the cat-girl's bed back in the dorm.

"Maybe I could meet her sometime?" There was an obvious amount of hope in the bushy-haired girl's eyes. The very idea of being able to meet someone incredibly smart was not something she'd want to pass up.

"I'll have to ask her." Obvious issues would likely prevent that from happening, but exceptions were always a possibility. Besides, it seemed like the girl could benefit in some way from meeting Washu.

Hermione voiced her thanks. Even if she couldn't meet her, she was glad that her friend was going to ask. "Oh, what are your favorite classes? I think I'm fond of Transfiguration and Charms the most."

"Herbology and Charms seem fun." Gosaria said after a moment of thought.

Ranma scratched her ear as she thought about it. "Potions," She finally said. It actually required one to keep active in what they were doing without simply waving a wand and being done with it. It required one to have a steady hand so as not to add too much or too little of an ingredient. Also, one had to have an idea of just how to put everything together so that it didn't painfully backfire. "Transfiguration and Astronomy are also good." It was just a shame that the former was too easy, while the latter was something she was already familiar with to an insane degree.

A familiar laugh caused the cat-girl to cringe ever so slightly. Thankfully, she had managed to get somewhat used to it after having to hear it multiple times every day. She didn't have to wait long before the raven-haired banshee appeared behind her. "So, the first-years are out of class for the day?"

"Hi Nashigi." Gosaria greeted with a bright smile. The laugh didn't even bother her at all.

"Hello Gosaria." The older girl answered back. "And Hello Hermione."

Hermione returned the greeting, but still wondered how anybody was capable of laughing like the older girl did.

A small smirk suddenly appeared on Ranma's lips. "Ah, that's right, you don't get the afternoon off. It's a shame that you have to be stuck in classes while we don't."

"Ooohhh, you're so mean, Lina." Nashigi whined as the group of four entered the Great Hall. Hermione split up from them to go to her own table as the trio continued on to sit down at the Slytherin table.

"Hey!" Ranma yelled in annoyance as she glared at Nashigi. "Don't steal my roast chicken!" She was just about to take a bite out of it when the older girl snatched it out of her hand.

"I didn't see your name on it." Nashigi said with a smile as she bit down on the chicken.

The redhead growled before her arm disappeared in a blur. When it came back into view, her fork was holding onto a rather large piece of haddock. "Then this is mine." She proceeded to quickly eat it amidst the other girl's protest. It was at that moment when she noticed that a large slice of beef was missing. "Gosaria!"

"You realize that there's actually enough food, right?" Blaise Zabini, a tall, dark-skinned boy with high cheekbones stated as he watched the three fight over food. "The three of you are acting like such children." His wide, slanting eyes turned towards Draco. "I find it hard to believe that the two of you are twins. Doesn't the thought of being related to her embarrass you?"

Draco gave the boy a cold look. "No, it doesn't. Maybe she is a smidge on the eccentric side, but she's able to keep her head on straight when she has to."

"She's also really smart and powerful." Crabbe added with a much deeper glare towards Blaise.

Goyle pointed a large finger at the dark-skinned boy. "So don't you dare insult her."

Theodore Nott, a stringy-looking boy with dark hair, raised his eyebrow at the duo. "What, do the two of you have a crush on her or something?"

Both Crabbe and Goyle sweat-dropped at the question. They then proceeded to make a quick glance towards the cat-girl in question. Luckily for them, she was still caught up in arguing with Nashigi and Gosaria to hear. "O- Of course not." The both of them said at once.

An amused look appeared on Pansy's face. "Oh, this is just rich." She turned to look in the redhead's direction. "Hey, Kitty Ea-" She quickly found a large hand slapped against her mouth courtesy of Goyle. Draco - sitting next to him - gave the girl a piercing look.

"Some things are best kept secret for now, Parkinson." The blond boy stated in a cool voice. "I'd hate to see how my two friends here would react if someone went around blabbing a deep secret like that and let it get out to Lina. If they were to become embarrassed about it, I dare say that they might act on emotions alone and deal out punishments to those who couldn't keep their lips shut." Draco calmly bit down on a piece of beef. "There's also no telling just how my dear sister would react. It might trouble her, and she would probably react violently to the one who spouted such 'lies' that were made to embarrass both her and our close friends here. I highly doubt that you would want to be the focus of her anger, right?"

Pansy, Millicent, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis all paled upon remembering the violent scene three mornings ago in their dorm. A few other girls recalled the disturbing incident in the bathing chamber four nights ago. All of them answered Draco's question with a deep shiver.

"Good, then we all agree. This goes double for everyone else that heard this. If you remember these warnings, then you shall be able to live to see your seventh year."

"Yeah?" One of the boys asked. "Just what could your sister do that's so horrible?"

"Summon fire and char your flesh and bones until there is nothing left but ash." One of the girls present in the bathing chambers answered with a shiver. "Scaliston over there is lucky that Malfoy decided to go easy on her."

The ones who had never bore witness to the events in question could just share a look of confusion. They didn't want to end up angering the two hulking friends of the male Malfoy sibling, so they thought it best to just not say anything. After-all, they were a lot more intimidating than some tiny redheaded cat-girl that merely had a bunch of rumors floating around about her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After finishing lunch, Ranma quickly made her way outside to explore some more of the Hogwarts Grounds in an effort to learn a little more about the place that she was stuck in for the next year. She had decided to leave checking out the forbidden forest for later. Preferably at night when she was sure that nobody would be able around to see her.

Once finished, the redhead made herself comfortable at a tree right near the lake. She proceeded to watch as the giant squid appeared above the surface of the water, and was surprised to see the creature greet her by waving a tentacle before dipping back below. Obviously, it wasn't just a normal squid, and had some degree of intelligence.

Feeling that she had relaxed enough, Ranma quickly got to work on some light training. It wasn't anything complicated or showy, and was mostly slow and graceful while taking advantage of both her balance and flexibility. It was her way of clearing the mind and getting herself to think.

Her life was no longer completely devoted to the Martial Arts. She wasn't the heir to a school, nor was it something that she had to learn. She still trained, but it was more for hobby purposes and to have a way to properly defend herself if she ever came across someone skilled. Her Masu physiology provided extra boosts in areas such as speed, strength, and endurance, and any benefits she gained from training were simply added to the mix. Due to this, she was already on par with her past self while having had a much smaller amount of training. To some, it would probably seem unfair, but there really wasn't much that could be done about it.

Magic was another large aspect of her life. She was able to use it in combination with her martial arts with much more devastating results. She was able to use it to change, create, and modify things depending on how she used her mana to manipulate the target. She could control water in many different ways. Through manipulation of atomic and molecular structural, she could change a liquid to a solid or gas and vice versa. Creating fire and reshaping the very earth below her feet were also very simple matters. Thanks to books, watching witches and wizards, experimentation, and coming to this school, she was able to learn of countless other ways that she could use her mana.

Perhaps the greatest significance out of everything was what Washu taught her. In the beginning, she hated the idea of being stuck with a mad scientist and being taught a bunch of complete nonsense that she'd probably never care for or need. However, as time went by, she found herself greatly attached to gaining knowledge. The sciences, mathematics, technology… It was all something that she didn't know if she could honestly live without. She found joy in garnering information, to collect books of varying aspects to read, the hum of machinery in the background, researching secrets, and anticipating the day of her first _**SUCCESSFUL **_invention.

Her short-term goal was to become an Auror, but her ultimate ambition was to find a way that would allow her to use all of her skills. She just wasn't sure what that could be.

Finished with her training, Ranma ignored the stares she received from the various onlookers as she decided to head back to the common room. As she made her way towards the entrance to the castle, her nose caught a familiar scent that caused her to stop in her tracks. She proceeded to sniff the air a few times to see if she had made a mistake or not.

"It can't be." The redhead said softly with a frown. Deciding to check to see if her nose was playing tricks on her, she levitated a few centimeters into the air before taking off in the direction of the scent. The trail led the cat-girl away from the castle and into the direction of the school's Quidditch Pitch. Since it was still just the first week of school, the area was completely deserted of any sign of life.

Touching down onto the ground, Ranma quickly crouched down on all fours. The scent was present in multiple directions from this point, and so she would have to concentrate on finding the strongest trail. She was glad that nobody was around to see her walking around on all fours with her nose to the ground, because she didn't know if she could take the embarrassment.

The strongest scent trail brought her towards the changing tents at the back of the pitch, and as she neared the entrance flaps, she came to an abrupt halt. Her tail arched upwards and bristled as she stared into the darkness. "I know that you're in there." She stated with narrowed eyes. For a moment, it didn't seem as if there would be an answer. In an instant, though, a small blur exited the tent and charged towards the redhead. Ranma, however, was ready, and the redhead quickly teleported out of the way and reappeared on top of the tent in a crouched position. "How were you able to get here, old letch? The muggle repelling charms should have kept you away."

"I have my ways, Ranma." Happosai answered with a chuckle. "Or should I be calling you 'Lina'?"

"And how did you know who I was?" The cat-girl asked in an obviously agitated voice.

The tiny man calmly lit the end of his pipe. "I've known for years, kid. I overheard Nodoka, Kasumi, and Akane refer to you as Ranma one time when the four of you were alone."

"You mean you were eavesdropping." Ranma accused, earning a small shrug from the shriveled martial artist. "Does anyone else know?"

"Just Cologne"

"Cheh," The cat-girl let out in disgust as her tail swished behind her, "Just my luck to have the two old raisins know the truth." Noticing a movement out of the corner of her eye, she quickly erected an energy shield to block an incoming Happosai. She watched as the man bounced off of the dome and crashed down onto the ground. "I think that deserves a B for effort, an A for the crash, and an F for intelligence."

Happosai gave a small groan as he sat up. He couldn't decide which hurt worse: his face for running right into the shield, or the back of his head for smacking it against the ground. "What in the hell was that, girl?"

"My guess is that it was a shield. What do you think?" Ranma asked as she gave him an innocent look while her ears twitched. "I mean, I can't think of anything else it could have been."

"Cheeky little…" The tiny man grumbled as he got to his feet. "I mean, how did you learn that trick?"

His question earned him a lazy shrug. "I was just able to do it one day." In truth, she gained access to the ability when she turned eight. At the time, it was weak enough to allow an apple to break through. It was much stronger now, but she could only keep it up for 20 seconds at a time before it blinked out. "It's quite good for dealing with lecherous old creeps, isn't it? I mean, who knows what you could do to me all the way out here where there isn't anybody else around."

"You're just a child, and in case you forgot, I would never do anything to children." Happosai spat in disgust at the very notion. "Besides, you look like a malnourished runt, and there's no way I could bring myself to grope someone with a chest that's flatter than a board." He stated in an attempt to tease the redhead.

A vein suddenly appeared on Ranma's forehead as what the tiny man said hit her. "Happosai," She began in a sweet voice, "It would be best for you to run?"

"…Eh?" The aged martial artist asked in total confusion. Why should he have to run away from her? "Nice try, girl." He scoffed with a wave of his hand. "But you're still a baby compared to me. Maybe in a few years, _**IF**_ you are close to where you used to be, you would provide a challenge, but-" He trailed off when he felt the front of his gi rip. Glancing down, he noticed four claw marks in the fabric. "Th- The Neko-ken?" He asked as he lifted his head back up to see that the cat-girl's claws were glowing and had extended to 15 centimeters.

"No," Ranma answered as her face took on a dark look, "Just a combination of ki and wind magic." The ki extended from her already slightly extended claws while she manipulated the air with a simple slash. "Now, I'll give you to the count of five to run. 1…"

"As if I'm scared of a little girl!" Happosai shouted as he crossed his arms. Obviously, the little upstart was delusional and thought she could take him on. Well, he'd just have to teach her a lesson.

"4…"

"Hey, what happened to two and three?"

"I'm impatient." The cat-girl said with a smirk. "And that's 5." She proceeded to get to her feet.

Happosai braced himself for whatever move his adversary would try. There was no way that he would be caught off guard by her, and so he was ready for anything. Anything that is, except for the ground below to rise up around him. He quickly found his entire body - except for his face - encased in a large ball made of rock. "What is this?"

"I don't feel like fighting you right now, old letch." Ranma said as she hopped off of the tent and landed next to floating stone ball. It was obvious that the elderly martial artist was caught completely off guard, and was expecting her to come at him straight on with ki. Instead, she chose a sneaky route with magic. "I'll fight you and kick your ass some other time, but for now, I'm just gonna get rid of ya."

"Now wait just ammph!" The rock quickly extended to cover Happosai's mouth.

"Let's see…" The redhead mumbled as she glanced up at the sky to get a pinpoint on the directions. Once done, she rose up into the air and hovered just above the Quidditch Pitch. Placing a hand on the stone ball, she manipulated the surface to create a small handle. Once she gripped onto it, she began to spin around at a fast pace. After catching enough momentum, she then let go of the tiny rock prison and sent it careening off into the distance. She watched it sail away until it completely disappeared.

"Boy is he going to be pissed off at me later." That was, of course, assuming that the elderly man would survive through it. Considering the constitution of the guy, however, survival was more than likely. Then again, the world might be a better place if he didn't.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A yawn escaped from Ranma's lips. It was just after 6PM, and the redhead was currently lounging on the sofa in the Slytherin common room. In her hands was a manga that she was busy reading. Laira, meanwhile, was resting comfortably in her lap as the cat-girl gently scratched her head.

In front of the sofa sat Nashigi and Gosaria. They were both competing against each other in a game of Wizard's Chess, with Nashigi completely baffled at just how the blonde girl was able to give her the runaround. It seemed as if Gosaria had no strategy or coherent pattern, and she merely sent her pieces to random spots without putting any thought into it. Yet somehow, those erratic movements seemed to work out perfectly in the blonde's favor.

"How are you beating me?" Nashigi asked with a pout as she crossed her arms. "You're just giving them random commands without a goal."

"Trying to think up strategies for chess makes my head hurt." Gosaria replied as she scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "It's much easier to just give them random commands, and it's a lot more fun to watch what happens."

Tilting her head, the older thought about what was said. "Doing that _**WOULD**_ be a lot more fun." This caused the pieces on the board to complain about the two not taking the game seriously. "Ooohohohoo, it's always so amusing when the pieces think that they can order you around."

Ranma - ignoring the game that was going on in front of her - frowned in annoyance as she felt a presence behind her. Turning her head, she noted that it was an older, male student that was leaning against the back of the sofa while staring over her shoulder. He was tall with large teeth, shifty-looking eyes, and coarse black hair. "Do ya mind?"

"Sorry, Kitty Ears, just trying to find out what you were reading." Marcus Flint said with a raised hand. "It seems to be like one of those Muggle comic book things."

The nickname caused the redhead's ears to give a twitch. It seemed as if that name had gotten around to almost everyone in Slytherin, and so a lot of people were now calling her by that name when referring to her. "It's a manga," She answered, "From Japan."

"So all of those weird symbols are actually Japanese writing?" Flint asked with a point.

"Good, you catch on fast." The manga was quickly snatched out of her hand. "Hey!" The cat-girl shouted as she turned around and gripped the back of the sofa. Everyone in the room could see her tail bristling. Laira, meanwhile, jumped onto the furniture's arm.

"What's it called?" The boy asked as he flipped through it. "And what's with this guy with the pointy ears on his head?" The reading material instantly disappeared from his hands.

Ranma held on tightly to her returned manga. "It's called Inuyasha," She answered, "And it's about a half-demon of that name. He's a dog demon, and so he has pointy white dog ears on the top of his head."

"Sounds weird, but it figures that you'd read something like that." Flint stated with a smirk. This caused several others in the room to snicker.

"It has nothing to do with me being part cat!" The redhead growled in annoyance. "I just found it interesting is all." At this, there was more snickering, and it caused her to turn her head around and glare at the ones doing it.

"Relax, Kitty Ears, it's just a little harmless fun." Flint stated as his hand reached out towards her ears. He and many others had been curious to know what it would be like to scratch the girl behind her ears. It was actually something he was already planning to do earlier, but she sensed him before he could accomplish it.

Upon feeling a hand touch the area at the base of her ears, Ranma's head whipped around as she extended her arm to grab the boy by the collar. "Don't… do… that…" She trailed off as her arm went limp. Her eyes slowly shut, and her head rested against the back of the sofa. She then proceeded to give off a low, constant purr in response to the scratching.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing immediately and stared directly at the purring cat-girl. Her crimson tail could be seen swishing back and forth in blissful content. Several students ran towards the dorms to report what was happening, and a few of the female students were having trouble _**NOT**_ thinking of the cat-girl's actions as adorable. Others, however, feared for what would happen when said cat-girl came to.

One older girl, who knew nothing of what Ranma was capable of, quickly ran over to the sofa and slapped Marcus Flint's hand away before scratching the spot herself. She proceeded to sit down and allowed the purring redhead to limply fall onto her lap and lay in a cat-like fashion with her arms and legs under her body. "She's so adorable!"

"So she reacts in weird ways to both her ears and tail." Nashigi stated in amusement.

Gosaria tilted her head slightly. "Her purring seems kind of comforting."

Laira, meanwhile, gave off an audible gulp. She just knew that things would soon turn messy, and she definitely did not want to watch. Hopping down from the sofa's arm, she proceeded to run away. As she ran, she caught sight of Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle appearing from the steps to the boys' dormitory. "Draco!" She yelled as she took a large hop into the boy's arms.

"Laira?" The blond boy asked with a blink. "What's gotten into you?"

"That," The cabbit stated as she pointed.

Draco followed the direction that the paw was pointing in. What he saw caused him and his two friends to pale. "Oh bloody hell." He let out with a sweat. "Are you off your trolley! She doesn't like to be scratched behind the ear!"

The fact that the male Malfoy was completely freaked out caused the ones who were slightly nervous about the cat-girl to become terrified at what might end up happening.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked as she stopped scratching the base of Ranma's ear. "She doesn't seem to hate it."

"That's just because it puts her in her own kind of trance that she has no control over!" Draco answered as he took a step back. "Only our mother can scratch Lina behind the ear without her getting angry or embarrassed."

Before anybody could say anything else, Ranma's eyes slowly fluttered open. When she noticed where she was, she quickly scrambled and pushed herself up into a sitting position on her knees. A monstrous blush took over her face when she realized that everyone had managed to learn of her second-most embarrassing weakness. Her crimson tail wrapped around her body to allow her to grab hold of it, and she failed to realize that she was nervously playing with it. Her ears flattened against her head to complete the vision of a nervous and embarrassed kitten trying to ignore the fact that there many people around her.

The silence was broken by a loud bout of laughter that was coming from Marcus Flint. He found the very scene to be absolutely hilarious. "Sh- She purrs when you scratch her ears! She's more kitten than she is human." The tall boy walked up and gave the cat-girl a poke on the head. "Would the little kitten like some milk in a saucer so that she could lap it up?"

Ranma's teeth clenched as she listened to the bastard rub salt on her wounds. It was his fault that her secret got out. It was his fault that she was completely embarrassed beyond belief. It was his fault that several people were laughing, and it was he who would pay for causing this embarrassment to her name. Her eyes changing to show her fury, the diminutive redhead pushed herself to her feet.

Draco frowned as he watched the scene happening in front of him, and even more so when he saw that Nashigi and Gosaria were still close by. "Crabbe, Goyle, get Lina's friends to safety."

"Right!" The two large boys said at once as they quickly made their way over to the two girls and pulled them out of the way. "Lina's going to be angry."

"So it may be safer to not be close to her."

"Yeah, we've seen her angry before." Gosaria stated with a nod.

Flint continued to laugh as he walked towards the wall. His laughter quickly came to a halt, however, when he felt a powerful force fly right on past him and cause the area before him to explode. Once the dust settled, his eyes widened at seeing a huge hole of about three meters deep in the wall in front of him. Slowly turning around, he was disturbed to see a certain small cat-girl staring in his direction with eyes glowing an eerie golden. "W- What just happened?"

The only one to speak up was a third-year boy named Graham Montague. "Sh- She just turned her head in your direction, and as soon as she did, the wall exploded."

Flint was about to respond, but found himself pressed against the undamaged part of the wall by an incredibly pissed off floating redhead. Her cat-like golden eyes stared directly into his own as she used a finger to painfully tilt his chin upwards. "I don't appreciate having my ears scratched in public, you know."

"S- Sorr-"

"That's not going to cut it!" The furious redhead growled as her face came closer to his. As she did, her lips curved upwards into an evil smirk. "Maybe I should make you my guinea pig? I've never had one before, so there's no telling if you would survive my experimentations." The cat-girl's head tilted to the side a little. "Of course, if I do, I could just preserve all of the important organs for later use." She gave off a strange cackle that managed to send chills up everyone's spines.

Laira couldn't help but sweat-drop at hearing what her mother had said. Washu had managed to rub off on the cat-girl more than she let on. Usually, the only sign of it was that Ranma would sometimes let off a Washu-like cackle. However, if she ended up emotional enough, she would delve into slightly similar mannerisms. Nothing ever like this, however. In fact, the last week was the angriest she had ever seen her mother. Maybe there was something about the school that was getting to her.

"Nah, you'd be boring to experiment on." Ranma said as she gave the toss and watched him land against the back of the sofa. Her eyes then scanned the room to see just about everyone looking at her in fear. Her eyes quickly changed from gold to red, and then back to her normal half-blue/half-red. 'Shit, I can't believe I did that.' She shook her head in an attempt to clear it as she teleported away from the room.

Nobody moved. They were all too frightened to. Except, that is, for Marcus Flint, who mumbled something about needing a change of pants.

"Well," Draco said to break the silence, "I guess everyone now knows why my sister shouldn't be messed with."

Gosaria gave a nod. "Yeah, she really gets her hair in a twist."

"I think you mean 'knickers in a twist', Gosaria." Nashigi supplied.

"Those too."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma frowned as she stared up at the sky. She was currently lying on her back on top of the Astronomy tower, contemplating her current issue with her temper. Because of it, she had likely caused almost every single person in Slytherin to fear her. That wasn't a really good sign for just her first week. She knew that her brother, Crabbe, and Goyle would be okay around her, but she honestly hoped that Nashigi and Gosaria wouldn't end up fearing her. She also hoped that Hermione wouldn't get afraid if she ever witnessed her in angry mode.

'Maybe I'm just having a bad week is all.' She thought to herself. Yeah, that was probably the most likely reason as to why she was on edge. It's been a month since she actually had any work to do for Washu, and this place she was cooped up in was incredibly boring and grating on her psyche. Having her two greatest and embarrassing weaknesses figured out, encountering Xellos and Happosai, and the way she met Nashigi - who, like Gosaria, seemed REALLY familiar - were also piled on her in just the first week. As such, maybe everything from now on would be smoother, and she could always wait just another week before asking Washu if she could give her things to do.

'I wonder if I'll get in trouble for this.' It was more than likely that she would. She did, after-all, assault a student, and it was likely that either they or a prefect would take it to a teacher. 'Eh, I'll deal with it if it comes to it.' If she got expelled, then she got expelled. There was no real loss on her part.

Raising her hand, she sent a small ball of fire into the air. She then proceeded to use her finger to lazily manipulate it and create various shapes. Doing this with her magic was an exercise in both control and capability. The more she practiced, the easier it was to do what she wanted, and the less energy it would take to get the job done.

As she moved the fire around, her mind drifted off to her most recent anger explosion, and she remembered how she easily obliterated the wall. This brought a smile to her lips as she realized that she finally managed to successfully pull off a telekinetic blast. It was something that Ryoko had attempted to help her with for the last few years, but each attempt ended in complete failure. She would need more practice with it, because it seemed as if she wasn't able to do it again at the moment. Still, she was elated to know that she was finally catching up to Ryoko. Well, okay, so Ryoko was still _**WAY**_ beyond her at the moment, but who cared about the minor details? Now, if only she could create a successful doppelganger.

As she lay there and watched the sky slowly darken more and more, her mind slowly thought about the forbidden corridor, and just why it was so hazardous. 'Maybe I'll go pay the place a visit.'

'Are you sure, momma?' Laira asked through their connection. 'It could be really dangerous.'

'Yeah, I am.' Ranma said as she teleported from her spot on the tower and back into the school. 'I doubt a school full of children would really keep a deadly something where just about anybody could get to.' Phasing into the wall so that she wouldn't be seen, the cat-girl made her way towards the third floor. Once there, she poked her head out of the ceiling to make sure that there was nobody around. Upon finding that the coast was clear, she lowered herself down to the floor and continued on her way.

She soon came to stop in front of a door. She could sense something on the other side, and she was sure that this may have been the reason for the off-limits warning. Instead of testing the doorknob to see if it would open, she decided to just phase through the door.

Once inside, she quickly noticed that there was a strong scent of dog that lingered around the room. 'They're keeping a dog in here?' She asked in confusion. In that case, she could understand why it would be so dangerous. A vicious dog could maul anybody who wasn't careful enough, but why did they need one in the first place.

A low growling caused the cat-girl to return her attention to the front. There, in the darkness, she could see a black dog barring its teeth at her. It was a big dog. In fact, it was positively gigantic, with large, extra pointy teeth. It also - to Ranma's immense surprise - had two other equally large heads on either side of its middle one. It wasn't just a dog… it was a monster dog.

"How the bloody hell did this school obtain Cerberus?" She asked in complete disbelief. Just what was so important that they needed an actual hellhound to guard over? "Err- Nice doggy."

The three headed dog didn't hesitate in attempting to chomp on her with its heads. "Grr…" It growled as drool dripped from its mouths and fell to the floor. Without warning, it leapt at the cat-girl.

"Hey, knock it off you damn mutt!" Ranma shouted as she leapt out of the way and gave the creature a hard glare. The Cerberus look-alike returned the glare, but found itself backing up a little when the redhead's eyes flashed golden. Each of its heads let out a whimper as it laid down and attempted to cover its heads with its paws.

The cat-girl found herself looking on in confusion at the terrified creature. "What the…?" She asked as she slowly made her way over to the whimpering dog. "Hey, you okay?" Her hand slowly reached out to touch the top of the middle head, but found that the dog stiffened at her touch. "Oh c'mon, I'm not going to hurt you." She managed to give it a light pet. "You're not such a vicious beast from Hell, are ya?"

Hesitantly, both the right and left heads removed their paws before raising their heads and staring directly at the golden-eyed redhead. Both of them leaned forward, and in one quick motion, their large tongues licked both sides of Ranma's cheeks. "Eeeeck, hellhound slobber." The middle head, not wanting to be left out, reached up and gave her a third lick on the face. 'Damn dogs and their drool.' She'd have to have a quick bath before going to bed tonight.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**OMAKE 1: Waterlogged**_

"YOU!" Ranma shouted angrily as she pointed directly at him. It was then that she realized just where they were, as well as her current state of dress. After a small eep, she quickly wrapped the towel around her body. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Laira, knowing just who the person was, hissed as her fur stood on end. She may not have been with Ranma at the time, but she had managed to learn of him via the memories. As such, she did not trust this Xellos at all, and found herself disliking him even more due to the inhuman scent that was coming from the purple-haired man.

"Aww," The mazoku responded with a frown, "Is that any way to treat an old friend? I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"You're right, how rude of me." Ranma said as orange energy sprung up around her hands. "Let me show you how joyous I am. This is for knocking me out and abandoning me in the damn forest!" Pushing her hands forward, twin beams of energy flew forward at top speeds towards the object of her ire. However, just as the energy was upon Xellos, she watched as he simply batted both blasts into the air with little effort. "Hey, that's not fair!"

A loud explosion reached the cat-girl's ears, and when she looked, she saw that the stray energy had impacted against the roof of the bathing chamber. While it didn't cause a large hole, the ceiling had slowly started to crack. Small drips of water could be seen falling from the ever-increasing damage.

"Oh dear," Xellos said as he placed a finger to the side of his cheek, "Isn't Slytherin partially under the lake? That would mean that above this chamber, there's a large body of water that's about to come bursting through the ceiling because of your carelessness."

"Whaddaya mean by _**MY**_ carelessness?" Ranma shouted as she turned towards the mazoku, only to watch as he vanished with a cheerful wave. Nervously, she turned her attention back towards the breaking ceiling. As water quickly began to gush through, her ears and tail drooped in realization of what she had just caused. "Shite…"

The torrent of lake water quickly flooded the bathing chamber, and - as soon as a group of Slytherin girls had opened the door - instantly rushed through the opening to fill the rest of Slytherin. Students evacuated the place as best they could, but the water currents swept them all up and pushed them all through the entry, down the dungeon corridor, and to the dungeon steps. There, the water stopped at the top just before reaching the main hallway. Those who had heard the noise arrived to see waterlogged Slytherins pull themselves from the water. Those who were stuck back in the dungeon were quickly saved by the unexpected appearance of the Giant Squid and a few helpful merpeople.

Ranma, meanwhile, had managed to remain back in the bathing chambers, and she was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. Her elbows rested on her knees, and her cheeks were held in her hands. She was feeling rather dejected; her first day of school, and she had already managed to flood an entire area with unknown amounts of water. It was times like this where she was glad that she didn't need oxygen to survive, and merely depended on her body to absorb nutrients. As such, she was able to sulk at the bottom of the lake and not be disturbed.

Well, except for the Plimpy lightly nibbling at her. Maybe she'd catch them, cut off their thin web-footed legs, and then cook them. After-all, they were fish, and she'd be doing the merpeople a favor of getting rid of such annoying creatures.

"What're you looking at?" She attempted to ask to an unpleasant group of pale green creatures that were floating in front of her. They had green teeth, pointy horns, and long fingers. All in all, they didn't look pleasant at all, and they attempted to grab at the cat-girl. "Get away from me, you jackasses." She said as an energy shield popped up around her and painfully knocked back the Grindylow. Ranma then proceeded to go back to silently sulking.

_**OMAKE 2: The can that solves all**_

Flint continued to laugh as he walked towards the wall. His laughter quickly came to a halt, however, when he felt a powerful force fly right on past him and cause the area before him to explode. Once the dust settled, his eyes widened at seeing a huge hole of about three meters deep in the wall in front of him. Slowly turning around, he was disturbed to see a certain small cat-girl staring in his direction with eyes glowing an eerie golden. "W- What just happened?"

The only one to speak up was a third-year boy named Graham Montague. "Sh- She just turned her head in your direction, and as soon as she did, the wall exploded."

Flint was about to respond, but found himself pressed against the undamaged part of the wall by an incredibly pissed off floating redhead. Her cat-like golden eyes stared directly into his own as she used a finger to painfully tilt his chin upwards. "I don't appreciate having my ears scratched in public, you know."

"S- Sorr-"

"That's not going to cut it!" The furious redhead growled as her face came closer to his. As she did, her lips curved upwards into an evil smirk. "Maybe I should make you my guinea pig? I've never had one before, so there's no telling if you would survive my experimentations." The cat-girl's head tilted to the side a little. "Of course, if I do, I could just preserve all of the important organs for later use." She gave off a strange cackle that managed to send chills up everyone's spines.

"Oi, Lina!" The sound of Draco's voice could be heard throughout the common room. As Ranma turned her head to look, she noticed an object flying into her direction. Reacting quickly, she snatched it out of the air before bringing it close to examine.

Marcus Flint was able to see what it was quite clearly, and it caused him to blink. It appeared to be just an ordinary can of tuna, and so he didn't know how it could help the situation at all. To his confusion, however, he was quickly released from his precarious situation, and when he glanced up at the cat-girl that had literally scared the shit out of him, he could see that she had instantly become calm.

Ranma gave a small look around the room as a tiny blush appeared on her cheeks. She then proceeded to quickly walk towards the stairs leading down to the girls' dormitories. As she passed her brother, she mumbled a small 'thanks' before disappearing down the steps.

Draco, noticing that everyone was staring at him for answers, gave a simple shrug. "My sister's love for fish can calm her from even her most furious moments. Give her a can of tuna, some haddock, or any other kind of fish, and she'll accept it before going off somewhere to eat it."

Everyone sweat-dropped at the absurdity of the notion, but they all couldn't help but think of contacting their homes and asking their parents to send over a can of fish. After-all, if it could prevent them from feeling the wrath of a furious monster, then who were they to argue?


	9. Mulberries Don't Actually Grow on Bushes

Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, Harry Potter, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Thanks to the people of Fukufics and Lawra for pre-reading

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 9

As she sat in a chair, Ranma's eyes traversed the room that she was currently occupying. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of strange and odd noises that caused her ears to twist in various directions so that she could pinpoint where they were coming from. The room consisted of a multitude of spindle-legged tables that held curious silver instruments that whirled and emitted puffs of smoke. On the walls of the room were portraits of elderly wizards and witches. It was likely that they were former headmasters/mistresses of the school.

Sitting behind an enormous claw-footed desk before her was the current headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He was calm as his brilliant blue eyes stared at her from behind his half-moon spectacles. It almost felt as if those same orbs pierced right through her, as if he could actually see what she was thinking. His long fingers intertwined and rested on the desk in front of him, and even though he had the appearance of a frail old man with a long white beard, and a long crooked nose that looked like it had been broken at least twice, the diminutive redhead could sense a power emanating from all around him that put her on slight edge.

She knew fully well why she was in the Headmaster's Office. It was due to information of her angry and violent outbursts finally getting to the teachers, and her most recent outburst in regards to Marcus Flint was probably the nail in the coffin. Some of her abilities, especially her teleporting, were probably why she was here as well. It was right after eating breakfast when a prefect had asked her to follow them, and had led her to a waiting Professor Snape. Without much of a word, the pale man proceeded to take her up to the second floor before stopping at the statue of a gargoyle. After stating a password that she missed, the statue moved out of the way to reveal a staircase leading up to this room. After that, Snape left, and Dumbledore motioned her over to the chair she was currently sitting in.

Ranma was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed a bowl of candy being pushed towards her. "Would you care for a Sherbet Lemon, Lina?" The elderly man asked.

"Err- Sure," The cat-girl said as she snatched one. The last time she had some was a few years ago, because it wasn't exactly easy to walk into just any Muggle store when you had the ears and tail of a cat. Her eyes also had the habit of putting most people who saw them on edge, so it wasn't exactly uncommon for her to actually scare someone away by just looking at them with her slit pupils. Also, when was the last time someone saw eye coloring like hers with the top half being blue, and the bottom half being red? The only other person she knew of with eyes that were somewhat similar was Tokimi, but it wasn't like she ever ventured out into public.

"I believe that you know why you are here, correct?"

"Lost my temper a few times and scared the crazy out of a few people, right?" The redhead asked as she popped a candy into her mouth. "I guess it's also because I assaulted Marcus Flint."

"And Miss Scaliston."

"Don't worry about her; she can bounce back from anything." Ranma responded with a wave of her hand. "And how should I react towards Flint? The idiot managed to reveal my most embarrassing secret to almost everybody in Slytherin, and it'll likely spread throughout this place by this evening." She crossed her arms. "Alright, maybe I overreacted a little, but it's not like I actually harmed him or anything. Made him soil himself, sure, but no harm happened." Her nose crinkled at the memory.

"Which is a good thing," Dumbledore began, "Because if you had accidentally permanently injured or killed any student, than you would have been instantly expelled from Hogwarts." The aged wizard could sense that the girl sitting before him wasn't the type to take pleasure in randomly killing someone. "However, I can't rule out the possibility of detention."

"Aww jeez…" Ranma said as her tail swished behind her in annoyance. What kind of detention did they have in a magical school anyway?

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in amusement at her reaction. "There are a few other matters that I must speak to you about." He waited until the redhead's attention was centered back onto him. "I've heard that you are able to apparate without any problem."

"It's not apparition." Ranma interrupted. "It's my own kind of teleporting ability that I can do."

"The flying and traversing through solid objects are abilities of yours as well?"

"Yeah, and I've been able to do them since the magical accident that turned me into this." She pointed at her ears and tail. The cat-girl honestly hoped that the man wouldn't ask any more questions about them, because it almost felt as if he was able to see right into her mind.

Dumbledore gave off a small hum. The young girl sitting before him had some truly impressive abilities for someone who was hardly even in their second week of their first week of school, and it felt slightly unnerving. He could see that she was a good person, but her abilities - including her apparent proficiency with wandless magic - were much more advanced than what a witch of her age should be capable of. Any child with that kind of power could accidentally lose him or herself very easily.

However, this didn't mean that they should be hampered in trying to excel. Maybe Lina would need some monitoring to make sure that the power didn't go to her head, but she should in no way be forced to have her potential squandered due to a misplaced fear. It would be best to allow her to continue to advance in her abilities, and she would hopefully use those abilities to help the wizarding world. Here was a hope that she wasn't another Voldemort in the making. He'd at least try and make sure of that.

"We could avoid the matter of detention for now, if you agree to better control your temper, because I do not want to see any students tossed through a wall." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled to show that the last part was said out of amusement.

Ranma's cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment as she diverted her gaze a little. "Like I'd ever toss someone through a wall." She mumbled softly.

"It is also my hope that you will refrain from attacking any other student; by both magical and physical means." The elderly wizard said with an expression of seriousness. "If you do lay a hand on anybody, then you will find yourself in detention, or face restrictions in what you can and can't do."

The cat-girl winced slightly at the idea of being told when she could do something or where exactly she could go. She was already stuck in a school with a relatively small area to explore, and she didn't want to have to face the aspect of being told that she'd have to stay inside all of the time. "Err- What about just smacking someone upside the back of their head if they're being incredibly bothersome? I mean, I have to do that to Nashigi sometimes, because otherwise she could go on and on without stop."

Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought. "Well, as long as you don't hit them too hard. I've heard how you managed to punch a certain door clear across the room, and if you put that much strength into it…" He trailed off as the both of them considered the possible outcome and winced.

"Don't worry, professor," Ranma began, "I'm positive that I'd be able to control myself while doing it." She probably wouldn't risk it with her own physical strength, but she had just the thing for such an occasion. "And I'll make sure to not lose my temper like I did earlier." Hopefully it was just a situational thing, because she did not want to make a habit out of it.

After a couple more minutes of discussion, Ranma was allowed to head on back to her dorm. As she left her chair, she happened to notice a swan-sized bird sitting peacefully on a perch near a small flight of steps. It had red and gold plumage with a golden beak and talons, black eyes, and a tail that was as long as a peacock's. Its scarlet feathers gave off a soft glow within the shadowy glow it was stationed in. The bird's dark eyes appeared to watch her as she moved.

Realizing what the cat-girl was staring at, Dumbledore decided to clear up the mystery of the strange and elegant creature. "I see that you have finally noticed Fawkes." The elderly wizard said as he raised a hand towards the bird. Said creature hopped off of its perch and flew over to stand on the large desk in front of the headmaster. "I'm quite sure that you have heard about phoenixes, correct?"

"That's a phoenix?" Ranma asked as she moved closer towards it. The thing was a lot closer to the kind of phoenix she imagined… unlike the fat, short-tempered, and violent cuckoo that made its home on Kuno's head all those years ago. Hopefully this one wouldn't peck the hell out of her head. To her relief, when her hand neared the side of its head, the bird leaned forward and allowed her to pet it. It felt slightly warm to the touch, and the feathers that were golden seemed to be hotter than the rest of it. "Hey, I think it likes me." She didn't even have to accidentally frighten it first, either.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Upon returning to the common room, Ranma quickly noticed that those who had also finished their breakfast were back. It appeared as if the majority of them were attempting to do their homework. They were also giving her nervous and fearful glances, as if they were expecting her to snap at any moment and kill them all. Whenever they noticed that her eyes were almost directly upon them, they would turn away as quickly as possible. It was almost like they were scared that her eyes could pierce their very soul and see right through them.

'Maybe I should just accept it.' The redhead thought as she caused a seventh year boy to quickly turn with just a glance. 'At least nobody will try and bother me if they're all scared I'll devour their souls.' Of course, there was the possibility of having fun milking the situation. If they were scared of her, then she could easily make a normal confrontation seem like something else and set them on edge. It would also confuse all of the other houses as to just why her house was scared of her, especially if she put on an act of being innocently oblivious to the goings on. As the redhead thought it over, she accidentally began to chuckle ominously, setting everyone in the room on edge.

It also allowed the familiar, high-pitched banshee wail of Nashigi's laughter to nearly send them jumping out of their skins. The cat-girl, on the other hand, found an arm wrap around her shoulder. "So Lina, how much detention did you get? I hope it wasn't anything too serious."

Ranma phased out of the older girl's hold. "Actually, I just got a strong warning." She could hear the disbelief coming from the other students in the room. "But if it happens again, I'll automatically get detention." It seemed interesting that anything short of permanent injury or death to someone would simply get you in detention. Would doing something like flooding all of the Hogwarts lavatories simultaneously merely net one with detention?

"That's really lucky." Gosaria commented with an amazed expression upon her face. "I thought for sure that you'd end up having to do something like enter the Forbidden Forest at night."

"I wouldn't mind that." The redhead said. She did, after-all, want to check the place out. "I'm actually interested in what kind of creatures are in that place."

"Unicorns, Centaurs, Bugbears, Fairies, Augurey, and countless other creatures." Nashigi answered with a finger to her chin. "The Care of Magical Creatures instructor, Professor Kettleburn, gave the lot of us a rundown on what creatures could be encountered in the forest during our first lesson a few days ago." Her expression changed to a wide smile as she grabbed the two younger girls by their wrists. "C'mon, I need to show the both of you something amazing!" She proceeded drag the two out through the secret passage.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Ranma could be heard shouting just before the passage closed. This left everyone curious to know what was going on, but they were too scared of the redhead to actually follow.

It wasn't long before Ranma and Nashigi found themselves outside on the Hogwarts grounds. The older girl finally let go of them before taking a couple steps away, but turned around to face them with her hands to her hips. Her face gained a look of accomplishment as she stared at the redhead and blonde.

Ranma crossed her arms in front of her as her tail swished behind. "So what's the big idea of dragging us out here?"

The smirk never left Nashigi's lips as she turned to the side, extended her arm straight ahead of her, and pointed her finger. Almost instantly, blue energy began to form into the shape of an arrow, and the cat-girl could sense the mana being used for it. She watched, in awe, as the spell was quickly fired off. It careened across the lawn before crashing and turning a large portion of ground into a frozen block.

"Wow Nashigi, that was amazing!" Gosaria announced with wide eyes as she clapped her hands.

Next to her, however, the diminutive cat-girl was experiencing a case of total shock. Her mouth hung open as she stared at the ice. Quickly teleporting over to the spot, she placed her hand on top of it for examination. She could feel the mana holding the ice together, but pretty soon, the energy would slowly dissipate to allow the structure to melt. Nashigi didn't use her wand to do it, so how? "When did you-"

"I had the weirdest of dreams last night." Nashigi answered as she tilted her head while her face showed that she was attempting to remember. Both she and Gosaria had hurried over to the spot. "There was a woman with an outfit that literally gobsmacked me, and her laugh was the greatest that I had ever heard. She was casting that spell, and it seemed so incredibly familiar to me. I believe that she called herself Naga the Serpent."

"Naga the Serpent?" Ranma asked with a blink. "That's an odd-" She came to a halt as her heterochromatic eyes completely glazed over, her mind quickly assaulted by several Lina Inverse memories.

Both of the girls next to her waved their hands in front of her face. "Oi, Lina, are you okay?" Gosaria asked with a hint of worry. "Her eyes are spooky when they're like that."

"Should I pull her tail?" Nashigi asked. "The pain may wake her up."

Before the two could reach an agreement, the cat-girl - eyes still glazed, but having turned crimson - clutched both sides of her head. "No no no no no… not again!" She quickly started to bang her head against the block of ice, causing cracks and chipping away at the shining surface. A long string of expletives in both English and Japanese left her lips at a fast clip.

Nashigi and Gosaria were rendered speechless at their friend's sudden spastic attitude after just hearing a name. They quickly snapped out of it and grabbed the smaller girl by her arms to pull her away from the now destroyed ice block.

"Lina, calm down!" The blonde shouted. It was difficult to restrain the cat-girl due to her insane strength.

Ranma's eyes gradually reverted back to their normal half and half coloring as her body relaxed. 'I hate when that crap happens.' She could sense that Laira was worried, so she had to send a quick mental reassurance that she was okay. Usually when she received memories and instances from Lina Inverse's time, it was when she was asleep, but there were moments when she would obtain them while being awake. A few of those resulted in her going into a sort of trance and managing to actually get in touch with that long dead aspect. Gaining the visions and memories usually didn't affect her all that much. In fact, it felt more like trying to remember a vague television show. However, going into a trance felt more like actually being part of a real-time event with everything seeming so clear.

"What happened?" Nashigi asked.

Massaging the bridge of her nose, the cat-girl decided that it was probably best to explain to the older girl that the reason she had the dream vision, and was able to pull off that spell, was due to most likely being the reincarnation of Naga the Serpent. Upon being asked why this caused her to go berserk, Ranma let out that it was due to her being a reincarnation of Lina Inverse, and that both Lina and Naga were frequent traveling partners while constantly butting heads for various reasons.

Needless-to-say, both Nashigi and Gosaria thought that the explanation sounded a little far-fetched. However, before either of them could say anything, Nashigi proceeded to sit down on the ground.

"That sounds really weird, but at the moment, I'm too tired to think much about it." Nashigi said with a small frown.

"That's because you used too much mana in that spell." Ranma explained. "You need to use less of it. If you don't, you'll overexert yourself and become tired. You're going to have to experiment to see how much mana you can use, and just how much you can safely put into your spells."

A pout appeared on the older girl's lips. "But that sounds so boring. Why do I have to put forth so much thinking just to cast a few spells? Why can't I just use whatever amount I gather? I'd imagine that by doing that, it would end up a lot more impressive and powerful. All it will do is make me a little tired, and there's nothing harmful about feeling sleepy."

"Incorrect!" Ranma shouted as she pulled out a foldable fan and gave the girl a hard whack upside the back of the head. "Your mana is a part of your very life essence, and so if you recklessly squander it just to pull off grandiose visuals for no other reason than so it can appear phenomenal, you'll find yourself expiring faster than milk out in the Sun."

Nashigi and Gosaria stared at her for a long moment. "Huh?" They both asked at once.

Ranma, realizing that she had actually gotten long-winded again, gave a cough into her fist. It was moments like this were she hated being the super-intelligent person that she was. "I meant to say that if you use up all of your mana just to create more powerful versions of a spell, you'll likely kill yourself in the process. Overexerting yourself on mana could lead to internal damage to your heart or other organs."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place, then?" The blonde asked with a perplexed look.

Nashigi nodded in agreement. "Yes, you could have said that if I use too much magic in a spell, I'll end up suffering serious injury."

"It's because I… wanted to test you two." The cat-girl said as she averted her gaze while a flustered look appeared on her face. "I wanted to see if the both of you could keep up with what I was saying."

Gosaria pouted. "We failed that, then."

'I need a distraction.' Ranma thought in a desire to get away from her current embarrassment. As luck would have it, she caught sight of Harry and Ron making their way out onto the Hogwarts grounds. 'That'll do.' With a smirk that was noticed by both of her companions, she blinked out of view.

"Typical," Harry said darkly as he remembered the notice posted in the Gryffindor common room about flying lessons next Thursday with the Slytherins. "Just what I always wanted; to make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself." Ron said. "I know that Malfoy is always going on about how he's an expert at flying, but maybe the stories are all talk."

"Hiya Harry, Freckles, how ya doing?" The voice caused both boys to look around in an effort to find where it was coming from.

It didn't take too long before Harry found the source, and he had to tap his friend on the shoulder and point up. "Ron, Lina is sitting on your head."

"What?" The redheaded boy asked in shock and disbelief. His vision was quickly obscured by a pair of upside-down, heterochromatic eyes as the cat-girl in question remained on top of his head. "How did you- When did you- Why didn't I feel you on my head?" In fact, he still wasn't able to feel the girl on top of his head. Was she really so light that one couldn't feel anything?

Ranma gave a simple hop off of the boy's head and neatly landed on her feet. Flashing him an amused smirk, she placed a finger in front of her lips. "It's a secret."

As Harry contemplated on whether or not the girl was actually human… or sane, Ron found himself seething at the same girl's smug dismissal of his question. Sure, while she didn't seem to be a cruel twat like her brother, the female Malfoy sibling was every bit as annoying as he was.

"Lina!" Nashigi whined as she and Gosaria caught up with the girl. "You know we can't teleport." They had to run to keep up with her.

A small sweat-drop appeared as the smaller girl scratched the side of her head. "Err- Sorry about that. I keep forgetting." After-all, teleporting was something that she did almost all of the time, and didn't really need to think about it.

"There's another thing that she has in common with her brother." Ron said as he crossed his arms. "She walks around with two people larger than she is following her."

"Ron." Harry whispered in an attempt to get him to be quiet.

The other boy, however, ignored this. "I bet the both of them are used for intimidation tactics as well, right Malfoy? Are they as dimwitted as Crabbe and Goyle as well?"

Ranma blinked for a moment before scratching her ear and calmly walking towards the freckled boy with her left hand resting on her hip. "Let's see… how do I put this." After some thought, her eyes lit up as she slammed a fist into her palm. "Oh, I got it!" Faster than anybody could follow, she pulled out her fan and whacked the boy upside the head. "YOU IMBECILE!"

Harry fell backwards in shock as he watched his friend get hit in the back of the head by a foldable fan. Lina's hands were right next to her body one moment, but then hitting Ron with a fan from absolutely nowhere the next. Either the girl was really fast, or she was using some kind of magic to make it seem like her hands were next to her.

"Oww… what the bloody hell did you do that for? You realize how much that hurt?" The redheaded boy found himself hit a few more times. "Hey, knock if off!" The girl had a lot of strength for someone so tiny.

Ranma casually twirled the fan around in her hand before halting and fixing the boy with a piercing look. "Alright Freckles, listen up. The situations that you are pointing out are entirely incomparable from each other. My friends are not with me to try and intimidate anybody, because I can do that just fine on my own. All it would take is a finger flick to your forehead, and you'd be flying clear across the grounds."

Ron was starting to feel a little intimidated due to the tiny girl's face coming centimeters from his, and her unnerving, inhuman slit-pupil eyes boring directly into his normal ones. When she stepped away, he let loose a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "Why are you getting so worked up? I was just asking a few simple questions."

Ranma's lips turned into a frown. The boy in front of her had managed to insult her brother, their childhood friends, her, and her own friends all in one go, but he didn't even realize that he had said such a thing. "Quiz time, Weasley. Let's see how _**YOU**_ handle a simple question." She said as she obscured the lower half of her face with her foldable fan, leaving her eyes to give him a bored look. "If, for some odd reason, Nashigi and Gosaria's being around me is similar to Vincent and Gregory following my brother around, then what would you call your being around Potter here?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked as his eyes narrowed. Next to him, Harry frowned at the insinuation that the cat-girl was trying to get at. "How is that like-"

"Just look at you, following around on Potter's coattails. I bet that nobody would even _**CARE**_ about you if it wasn't for the fact that you are always around Harry Potter. You're just like a small dog that's following a larger one because it can't fend for itself." The diminutive redhead gave off a patronizing, loud laugh from behind her fan that would have made Ayeka proud. "Poor wittle puppy, beaten back by all of the other dogs."

"Shut up, you stupid twat!" Ron growled out as he gave the girl a two-fingered salute. "That's not the reason I'm friends with Harry."

"Err- Lina," Harry began. He did not like where this was going. "I think that you should-"

"Seriously, Weasley? Out of all of the members of your family that I have met or heard about, you are the most unexciting and forgettable of them all. Fred and George have imagination and humor, Percy is a prefect and is apparently full of intelligence, and from what I heard about your two oldest brothers from the twins, they're pretty much going places. I'm betting that even your younger sister will have a personality that would allow people to _**NOT**_ overlook her." Quickly closing her fan, Ranma pointed it towards the redheaded boy. "Face it; except for being Potter's lackey, you're just a flimsy shadow drifting in the wind."

Before Harry could even attempt to calm Ron down, the boy leapt forward in an attempt to punch the cat-girl. Unfortunately for him, he was too slow, and the girl side-stepped his punch, all the while covering her face with her fan. Ron tossed another punch, but found that he missed again.

"C'mon weasel boy, you're telegraphing your movements by light-years. At this rate, I could dodge your punches and enjoy a cup of tea without spilling a drop." As she dodged another slow punch, Ranma snapped her fan at his wrist and promptly flipped him into the air and onto his back. "Your physical abilities are shameful, mate."

"What's going on out here?" A commanding voice asked, causing the group of five to turn towards the source. They saw that it was Percy Weasley, marching towards them with a look that spelled trouble. "Were the two of you fighting?" He asked as he looked between Ranma and Ron.

Before Ron or Harry could get a word out, Ranma gave off a few sniffs as she wiped her eyes. She had used a bit of water manipulation to make it seem as if she was really tearing up. "Y- Your brother insulted my friends and me just because he doesn't get along with my brother. I c- called him off for being a big meanie, but he seemed to take offense, because he tried to attack me." The cat-girl stared up at the tall boy with wide, watery eyes as her ears and tail drooped. "Harry tried to stop him, but Ron just wouldn't listen. I didn't want to get hurt, so I had to fight back. Am I in trouble?"

Harry, Ron, Gosaria, and Nashigi all stared at the redhead with wide eyes. Harry and Ron found it to be a dirty move, but Gosaria and Nashigi found it to be completely brilliant and convincing. The use of her ears and tail only increased the look of sadness, and both girls had an incredibly hard time in keeping themselves from glomping onto their friend.

"She's lying!" Ron shouted in protest.

Percy turned towards him and crossed his arms. "Does that look like the face of a girl who is lying?" As Harry and Ron glanced in the diminutive girl's direction, they saw that she was sticking her tongue out while pulling down her lower eyelid. When Percy turned around, Ranma instantly put on her sad and hurtful. "I apologize for my younger brother's immature behavior, Miss Malfoy. I'll see to it that he earns a proper talking to later on." The older Weasley turned his head back towards her brother. "15 points from Gryffindor. If you continue to harass this girl, you'll find yourself in even more trouble." He quickly walked away from group.

Ron's mouth opened and closed over and over, but no words would come out. He then turned towards the cat-girl who had caused the mess. His face turned red when he saw that she was ignoring him in favor of cleaning out one of her ears. "You… you…"

Harry placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "C'mon Ron, let's get out of here so you can calm down." He gave the cat-girl across from them a glare. While he could understand that Ron said a little too much, he couldn't believe just how viciously and callously Lina had tore into him. He also couldn't believe how she had successfully managed to manipulate a prefect like she had.

"Maybe you should keep the puppy on a leash?" Ranma asked with a tilt of her head and a finger to her lips. "After-all, we wouldn't want him to break loose and get hurt trying to fight something bigger than him, would we?"

Ron's features darkened before turning around to stalk off. This left Harry to give the cat-girl a long look. "You went too far, you know that?" In fact, that was probably a worse browbeating than the male Malfoy sibling could ever give. Here he was thinking that she didn't have much in common with her brother, but then the truth smacked him right in the face.

"And I should care why?" Ranma asked with a lazy swish of her tail. Really, she didn't see any reason why she should care that she harmed the boy's feelings. "Besides, he's basically been a jerkass to me since we first met, so that gives me all the justification I need."

At that, the bespectacled boy left in search of his friend. Hopefully Ron wouldn't take what Lina said seriously, and that he could quickly forget about it. Who knew that such a small girl could be so incredibly vicious?

Once Harry had disappeared from view, Ranma gave off a small sigh while shaking her head. She really did appear to have a very short fuse recently for some reason, and she might have to try and get to the bottom of it. Perhaps some meditation would work to fix the issue.

"Remind us to never get on your nasty side, Lina." Nashigi stated as she rested an arm on top of the smaller girl's head. "But I'll admit that it was a wonderful display of intimidation, and you really put that little boy in his place."

'I wonder if I went too far.' Ranma thought with a frown. She was planning on cowing the redheaded boy, sure, but she ended up losing herself in the moment and came off as a total sadistic ass.

"Yeah," Gosaria said, "He was being a real jerk. It was good that you gave him a good tooth-lashing."

Both Ranma and Nashigi gave the blonde a small look. "It's tongue-lashing, Gosaria." The cat-girl said with a shake of her head.

"Oh…"

"And Gosaria, did you know that your brother is spying on us from behind that tree over there?" Ranma asked as she motioned in the direction.

"Really?" The blonde asked as she turned her head in the direction the redhead was pointing. Sure enough, Quintinsy was standing behind a tree with part of his head peeking out. "You're right!" She announced before waving happily. "Quin!"

Quintinsy cursed at the fact that he was spotted, and as he contemplated his next course of action, he was startled with a hand reached out from inside the tree and grabbed him by the collar. The hand was followed by the upper half of the cat-girl he detested so much. Just what kind of monster was she?

"Kinda rude to be ignoring your younger sister, don't you think?" Ranma asked with a smirk before teleporting back to the two taller girls with the boy in tow. "And ya know, you're not very good at spying."

"I was simply making sure that my sister was doing okay." Quintinsy answered as he gave Gosaria a warm smile. His expression hardened when he glanced back at the redhead. "I still don't trust you, Malfoy. I witnessed that confrontation with Potter and the Weasley boy, and I definitely don't like the idea of Gosaria being around you."

'He's persistent.' Ranma thought with a frown. Maybe she should have just ignored him instead of acknowledged his presence. "Are you nutty? Gosaria's just fine. It's not like I'm trying to force her into doing things she doesn't want." Why did she keep coming across these raving lunatics?

Quintinsy reached out and poked the cat-girl in the nose. "You don't fool me. My dear younger sister's innocence will not be destroyed by some weird creature that shouldn't even be in this school."

Ranma's eyes narrowed as she flexed her claws. 'That's it! I don't care if I'm expelled. I'm breaking this idiot.'

"Oohohohohohohohooo," Nashigi laughed out as she placed her hand to her cheek. "Will you listen to him? He's 17-years-old, but his immaturity is showing that he's nothing more than a silly little child in a soon-to-be man's body."

"W- What did you say?" Quintinsy asked as he shot the large-breasted girl a glare.

"I said that you are a little boy pretending to be a man. This also shows in your insults, which are absolutely inefficient, and incapable of even being called insults. They lack the oomph that is actually needed to make them seem biting and hurtful. However, even if you do come up with some proper, hurtful comments, they shall be buried under the embarrassing display that you have shown today, because why should we be insulted by such a silly little man?"

Ranma stared at the taller girl in shock. 'That was… kinda awesome.' She found a large amount of respect for the older girl growing by the moment. She could be an annoying banshee at times, yes, but she did seem to have a way with words.

"Nashigi," Gosaria said as she raised her hands, "That sounded like a bit too much. I'm sure that my brother didn't really mean what he was saying. He's a little too overprotective of me, but he's not a bad per-" She found herself nudged out of the way as her brother got into the dark-haired girl's face.

"Think you're so smart, do you, Scaliston?" Quintinsy asked as his face turned red. "Well I don't trust you either. You Slytherins are a bad influence on her fragile mind."

"I don't know," Nashigi said with a bored look as she crossed her arms, "I think Gosaria's mind is quite strong. You, on the other hand, have an abysmally delicate one, so might I suggest getting some help in overcoming your debilitating obsession in regards to your sister's safety and capability?"

Quintinsy's eyes smoldered as his hand twitched. He wanted to pull out his wand and shut this harpy's mouth, or slap the girl. However, that would cause too many problems, and being physically confrontational was not a way that a Ravenclaw should act. That didn't prevent his hand from moving towards his wand, though. "You wouldn't be saying that if I transfigured you into a- Ow!" Turning his head, he saw that his sister was holding a stick in her hand as if it were a club. "Gosaria?"

"Will you stop being such a jerk to my friends? If they were so bad, I wouldn't even be with them."

"A jerk?" Her brother asked as he winced at the fact that the blonde was angry at him. "Sis, I'm just thinking about your safety is all. You know that- OW!" He was hit again with the stick.

"I can take care of myself just fine! Now get out of here before I write to mum and dad, telling them that you're being a meanie."

Quintinsy stared at his sister for a long moment before turning to look at Ranma and Nashigi. His shocked look turned into a glare, which then struggled to become an impassive gaze. Trying to gather up as much dignity as he had left, he turned and headed for the school. It was because of Lina Malfoy and Nashigi Scaliston that his precious sister had turned on him. He wouldn't forget this. He most likely couldn't do anything, considering what he had heard about the cat-girl, but he could definitely curse their names.

After he left, Gosaria scratched the side of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry about Quin. He's usually not like this. Sure, he's gotten angry at other kids who have picked on me before. All my brother had to do was pull them away to talk to them, and they wouldn't bother me after that."

"Just talk to them?" Nashigi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, they did become a little pale after Quin talked to them, and they were always nervous when I talked to them after that. They'd always look over my shoulder with scared eyes, as if some kind of nasty monster was there. All I ever saw when I looked was my brother, holding a broom and kindly smiling in our direction." The blonde tilted her head. "I still don't understand why other people were always so nervous."

Ranma and Nashigi couldn't help but sweat-drop as they stared at their completely oblivious friend. The raven-haired girl gave a side-glance to the redhead and gave her a look that asked if she should say something. Said redhead placed a hand to her forehead and gave her head a negative shake.

'Her brother definitely needs therapy.' The cat-girl thought. Quintinsy reminded her of a much more unhinged Kuno, but without the inability to see reality. That in itself was a dangerous combination.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once the trio re-entered the school, they were instantly greeted by Laira. The small cabbit had leapt onto Ranma's shoulder and mentally questioned her about the emotions she felt earlier via their link. Once she found out what happened, her tiny cheeks puffed up in annoyance at just how mean people were to her mother.

'Don't worry about it, Lai. I took care of it.'

Laira gave a small nod. 'I know momma, but I just don't like it.'

Nashigi chose that moment to speak up. "You know, I've been wondering. Whenever the two of you are together, you're both usually silent, but you have reactions that make it seem as if you're talking to each other."

"We're connected mentally, and so we can read each other's minds." The cat-girl said as she gave the cabbit's head a scratch.

Laira nodded. "Yep, and we can talk to each other no matter how far apart we are. We can also feel each other's emotions."

"You're just full of surprises." Nashigi answered with a raised eyebrow. Just how many more secrets and/or abilities does the girl have?

Gosaria gave a small giggle. "The next thing you'll tell us is that you're some kind of alien or something, but things like those are just a part of Muggle fiction."

Ranma and Laira's ears twitched. Sure, while the cat-girl wasn't naturally from space, her physiology was basically formed by using the DNA of an extraterrestrial creature. So, in a round about way, she was an alien.

"Ooohohohoo," Nashigi laughed as she placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Oh Gosaria, that is truly a silly thought; Lina being an alien." This allowed Ranma to feel a hint of relief. "However, that would explain a few things about her. Maybe that 'magical accident' was just a cover up to disguise the truth." The dark-haired girl leaned a little towards the cat-girl. "You're not an alien, are you Lina?"

Ranma and Laira shared a sweat-drop as the cat-girl gave the taller girl as she attempted to keep as straight a face as possible. "Me, an alien?" She asked as she gave Nashigi a side-long glance. She could also see that the question attracted the attention of various students in the corridor. "That's got to be the silliest thing I've ever heard. Want me to whack you upside the head for even asking such a stupid question?"

Nashigi gave a small pout. "I guess you're right. It would have been fun to know an alien. You'd be like Superman."

"Who?" Gosaria asked.

"He's some superhero from American Muggle comic books. He's an alien who can fly, is incredibly strong, and has many other strange powers. He also goes around saving people from danger."

"As if I'd waste my time and energy rescuing every single person who asked for help." Ranma said with a look of annoyance. While helping people in danger was all well and good, and she would help someone if they were in danger, the very idea of having total strangers expecting you to save them every single time from every little disaster that befell them sounded incredibly stupid. "The only way I'd do a thankless and monotonous job such as being a superhero is if they paid me for my services; as long as they had the money." She gave off a cute smirk and wink as her tail swished behind her.

Gosaria blinked. "But aren't you already rich?" She did come from a wealthy family, after-all.

"Details, details," The cat-girl said as she held Laira in her arms. "It's not really about the money, but about being compensated for all of my troubles and stress. Would either of you like to spend every moment of your lives knowing that there would be some idiot asking for help every single time you want to go to sleep, take a bath, sit down to a meal, and whatever else?"

"Now that you mention it…" Nashigi answered as she thought about it. "It doesn't sound like it would be all that impressive."

Their blonde companion looked positively horrified. "B- But I don't wanna be stopped from eating, and I don't wanna be kept from my bubble baths. Do you two know how fun it is to put the little soapy bubbles on your face and make beards and hats? We don't get any bubbles here, but at home, I become Gonard the Great Mage!" She punched a fist into the air.

"That's… great, Gosaria." Ranma commented as she and Laira shared a blink.

Nashigi gave off a laugh. "Really now, I doubt that Gonard the Great could compare to Serpentine the Magnificent. Her bubble necklace gives her ultimate power!"

Ranma just stared. She couldn't think of anything to say, and so she just stared in total silence as the two girls compared their 'Bubble Bath Personas' to see which was the greatest. They even talked about how they would have to meet on the 'field of battle' to solve it once and for all.

'I'm surrounded by crazy people.' She said as she placed a hand to her forehead.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, when Ranma was asleep, she found herself in another dream. Like nearly every other time before, she was completely unaware that she was in the middle of one. There were times when she was, but those were much rarer.

The diminutive cat-girl hummed to herself as she lay on her back with her arms behind her head. Her tail swished lazily as she gave a large yawn. Near her feet was a fishing pole planted deep into the ground, and the bobber drifted lazily upon the surface of the pond. A bell was attached to the pole so that it would ding if it caught a bite.

'Any moment now.' Ranma thought to herself as her tail swished. She was hoping to catch a few really big ones. While she could just go into the water and snatch them, it ruined the fun and challenge of it all. It was much better to lye in wait, not really knowing what you'll catch.

The sound of the bell dinging caused her ears to twitch, and as she raised her head, the redhead saw that the fishing line was being tugged. Jumping to her feet, Ranma grabbed hold of the rod and worked on reeling in her catch. "Wonder what it is."

Once she pulled it out of the water, her excitement died, and it was replaced with total confusion at the realization that she had just pulled out Nashigi. "What the hell were you doing in the water?"

"I was just out for a swim when a hook grabbed me." The large-breasted girl said with a couple blinks, as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Well get off so I can get back to fishing!"

Nashigi nodded before pulling off the hook and walking towards the smaller girl. "Oh, and Lina, there's something that I want to show you!"

"What is it?" Her eyes followed the direction that Nashigi's hand was pointing to, and what she saw caused her to drop the pole in both shock and fear. "W- What in the hell?"

Standing just a few meters away was a large group of Nashigi look-alikes. From a quick count, there were 10 of them, and they were all standing in a line. Their eyes all stared in her direction, and they all had the same smug expression upon their faces.

"N- Nashigi, what the hell is this? Why are there 10 of you?" One was hard enough to deal with, but 11?

The large-breasted girl placed a hand to the side of her mouth. "Oohohohohohohohooo, I ended up having myself cloned, Lina. I figured that the world would feel better if my laugh was spread all around, and that everyone knew how to laugh like I did. However, I couldn't really do it all by myself, and so I had to go about creating some doppelgangers to spread throughout the world!"

Ranma's face turned an interesting shade of blue. "Y- You can't!"

"Silly Lina, you say that now, but just you wait until the entire world laughs like I do. It will be most glorious! Ooohohohohohohohohooooo!"

"OOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOO!" The doppelgangers all laughed at once alongside the original.

The cat-girl fell to the ground and clutched her head. 'This is hell… This is hell… This is HELL… THIS IS HELL!' The 11 ear-piercing banshee wails were playing havoc on her sensitive, enhanced hearing, and as the clones moved closer, the laughing got worse and worse. She needed some kind of release from this horrifying, and yet vaguely familiar, nightmare. Any release, as long as it would get rid of the painful screeching.

The world suddenly turned vague and blurry, and the very place around her seemed to almost speed up. Colors meshed together and started to spin around as the dreaded cacophony of laughter slowed down and sped up. Ranma's eyes watered as she attempted to make out what was happening and drown out the noise.

All of a sudden, a blur appeared out of nowhere and seemed to dance around in the jumble of colors. The laughing slowly started to die down before coming to a complete halt. However, the world was still a vague and jumbled, and she couldn't make anything out.

"Are you okay?" A feminine voice echoed around her as a blurred figure appeared in front of her and knelt down. She extended a hand to help the cat-girl up. "Here."

Ranma accepted the hand as the world came back into focus to allow her to see her savior. When she saw who it was, a smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks" She was glad that it was her who appeared.

Later on, when Ranma finally woke up, she felt reassured and content. She didn't know why, or how, due to everything seeming like one huge blur, but she knew that there was something about her dream that was the source of the help. Her mind felt at relative ease, and seemed clearer for the first time since coming to Hogwarts. 'Wish I knew what happened…'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It seemed as if Ron was unable to let go of her rather scathing comments from the previous day, and causing him to lose all those points merely added to the issue. On the moments that they would bump into each other in the corridors, or meet when entering the Great Hall, the Weasley boy would give her a rather powerful glare that could have made trees burst into flames. Ranma would merely handle this by briefly sticking out her tongue, flashing the victory sign, and be on her way. It didn't help the situation any, but it was definitely amusing to see the freckled boy fume.

As expected, she earned a cozy little spot in Harry Potter's displeasure. While the boy understood that his friend was the catalyst for the verbally violent beat down, he found her cruel, indifferent attitude towards the whole matter on that day to be highly unnerving. While Draco was still above her in the boy's resentment by a large margin, the bespectacled boy would rather that he had absolutely nothing to do with her at all.

Of course, that's what he would like, but considering that Ranma found enjoyment in popping up around him at random moments - managing to startle him on many of those times, - he found that it was an impossible dream.

Somehow, Draco had managed to learn of the confrontation, and needless-to-say, he was beyond amused. He knew that his sister could be unpleasant when enraged, but he never knew that she could be so impressively sadistic and condescending when need be. He honestly thought that she was way too goody-goody. Egotistical and arrogant among many things from time to time, yes, but she always came off as too noble. It was nice to see that she was more than that.

There was one thing that wasn't solved, however, and that was Ranma's boredom. It grew steadily over the week as classes remained about the same. A trip to the library for the first time managed to do away with some of it, but for whatever reason, she wasn't all that interested in randomly browsing through shelves of books in order to just find one that could be interesting. The area that caught her attention was the restricted section, but checking out those books would be impossible without a note from a teacher, and even though she could probably sneak a book, her senses felt as if something terrible would happen.

The most interesting and useful thing that she learned that week, though, was the Switching Spell in Transfiguration. It was a spell that was able to switch the place of two different objects. As such, if you had something you couldn't reach, you could switch it with something near you. However, there were special rules for getting the spell to work. The two objects being switched had to either be of relatively the same size, made of the same material, or be similar in other ways. Still, it was really handy, and she was certain that she could experiment with it in her spare time.

When Thursday finally came around, Ranma and Gosaria made their way out of the castle at about 10 minutes to three-thirty in the afternoon for flying lessons. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled beneath their feet as they made their way across the sloping lawns. Their destination was the smooth, flat lawn that was on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest. Ranma didn't really know why she had to take part in flying lessons. She was able to easily and effortlessly fly by herself without the need of props.

When they reached their destination, Ranma noted that there were around 22 broomsticks lying on the ground in two lines. Of the Slytherins who were already there, all of them except for Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle gave her at least some kind of odd look.

Pansy decided to walk up to her. "Don't know why you need to be here, Kitty Ears. You can already fly on your own, so it's not like you need to be here with us normal, non-air born folk." She said low enough so that only the redhead could hear.

The cat-girl tilted her head. "Do I sense a hint of jealousy, Pug Snout? I'll gladly take you flying so you can experience the wonder for yourself. I hear that the Forbidden Forest is lovely from the air. Of course, if I'm not careful, I could end up dropping you, and I doubt that you would want to be lost deep within that place with all of the dangerous beasts aiming for the flesh from your bones." She gave off a sweet smile. "But if you would like to try…"

Pansy's face lost all color upon hearing that. "N- No thank you, Kitty Ears. I'll just stick to brooms." She walked towards the other end of the broom line at a quick pace, mentally going over how mental the redhead was.

Ranma gave off a mental chuckle. She wouldn't really do something like that to someone. It was just that they were all scared of her no matter what she did, so the best she could do was have fun with the situation.

It wasn't that long of a wait before the Gryffindors started to arrive. Ranma and Gosaria silently greeted Hermione with a wave, and the bushy-haired girl returned the gesture. Hermione had voiced her nervousness over the course of the week regarding the approaching flying lessons. Since it wasn't something that one could learn from books, she was worried about how she would do. She had even asked Ranma several questions on what it was like to be able to fly. Her only response that she was able to give was that it made her feel 'free' and 'unrestricted'.

Along with the group of Gryffindors were Harry and Ron, both of whom attempted to ignore her completely in hopes that she wouldn't say anything to them. The Weasley boy did give a small glance in Hermione's direction in an effort to wonder why the girl was friends with 'the Malfoy'.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, was the final one to arrive in the area. She was a short woman with gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" She barked. "Everyone hurry up and go stand by a broom." As soon as everyone found a place next to a broom, Madam Hooch proceeded to give the next set of instructions. "Stick your right hand over your broom, and once you do that, I want you all to shout 'Up'."

Ranma did as she was told, and just before she could finish saying the word 'up', the beat-up and frayed-looking broomstick shot up into the air and into her waiting hand. She had to force her arm down due to just how powerful and fast the action was. 'That could have gone flying high up into the air on its own.'

Glancing around to see how everyone else was doing, the cat-girl could see that Harry and her brother had the easiest of times succeeding. Gosaria's broom had a slight delay before it slowly jumped into her hand. Hermione's broom merely rolled pitifully on the ground, as if it were a dying dog. Neville's broom, like a few others, held no response to them at all.

A great source of amusement came when Ron's broom shot up and smacked him right in the face, causing the redheaded boy to take a couple steps backwards in an effort to regain his bearings. "That was fantastic, Freckles," Ranma said, "But next time, you should at least try and catch it before it gives you a concussion."

"Oh shut up." Ron said as he rubbed his face while hearing laughter from a few others.

"That's enough now," Madam Hooch commanded. The then proceeded to show everyone the proper way of sitting on their brooms so that they don't end up falling off. Following that, the hawk-eyed woman made her way down the lines of students. When she arrived at the female Malfoy sibling, she couldn't help but blink. "Um- Miss Malfoy?"

"Yeah?" Ranma asked as she turned her attention to the teacher.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm on my broom. Why?" The cat-girl asked in a tone that made it obvious.

"Well, it's just that you are not in the proper position. What you are doing is highly… unconventional."

Madam Hooch was correct in her observation. The diminutive redhead was not sitting with the broomstick positioned firmly between her legs like everyone was instructed, but was lazily lying on her back while the broom floated a few centimeters above the ground. Her tail draped carelessly over the side as she made slow circular motions with it.

"I'm going to have to ask you to get on it properly.

"But I can fly without a broom." Ranma whined as she gave off a cute pout. "I don't need to worry about falling off or anything, so it doesn't matter how I get onto one." Her attitude actually caused a few laughs from the Gryffindor side.

"Never-the-less," Hooch began in a stern voice, "I am teaching you all how to properly sit on your brooms. You are a part of this class, so I expect you to follow the rules."

Grumbling in annoyance, the cat-girl slid off of the broomstick and onto her feet before grabbing the beat-up cleaning tool and placing it between her legs. Now normally, she wouldn't be causing such a disorderly scene in a class, because she learned long ago of the consequences of doing so from back when Washu started teaching her. The crab-haired genius definitely didn't mess around in her punishments, and Ranma learned - after about the 20th time - that her 'lovable sensei' was not one to ignore such infractions.

However, she was getting more antsy and dispassionate about her surroundings by the moment, and so to have to go through something that seemed completely useless to her did not help in alleviating her problem at all. Perhaps it was time to liven things up by performing some kind of hilarious and large-scale prank.

Ranma was brought out of her musings by the sound of over-excited chatter, and she quickly found out that the reason for all of the commotion was that Neville had accidentally lifted off of the ground prematurely. To make matters even worse, the clumsy boy had absolutely no control of his broomstick at all, and was rising higher and higher into the air.

That was until he started to slip off of his broom, and as he did, he attempted to grab hold of it so as not to fall. From what the cat-girl could see, however, Neville appeared to have hurt his wrist in the process and ended up letting go. This left the pudgy boy to fall towards the ground. He would have hit it too, if it weren't for the quick actions of the diminutive redheaded cat-girl.

Dropping the broomstick in her hands, Ranma quickly pooled a good amount of mana around her before performing a double upward slashing motion with both of her hands. As she did this, a powerful gust of wind rushed past the assembled students. Many of them had to brace themselves so as to not be toppled over by the powerful gale. When the wind reached Ranma's position, it curved upward and careened towards the falling boy. When it connected, Neville stopped his dangerous fall and began to slowly drift towards the ground. When he touched down, the strong gust petered out into a faint breeze.

Getting over her shock of what she had just witnessed, Madam Hooch hurried over to the pudgy boy in order to inspect him and see if he was alright. Upon finding that he appeared to have hurt his wrist, she decided to take the petrified and tearful boy to the hospital wing. Just before she left, she gave off a warning that if anyone messes around with the brooms, they'll be out of Hogwarts faster then they could say 'Quidditch'.

'Sounds like an easy ticket out of here.' Ranma thought as she glanced towards her broom. She also noticed all of the looks that she was receiving from almost everyone present. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"You just-" A Gryffindor boy tried to say. He had sandy-colored hair, and his uniform was worn in an untidy manner that made him seem like a slob. "What in the hell did you just do?"

"I believe it was magic." Ranma answered with wide eyes. "It's a really amazing thing; you must have heard of it, right?" This caused the boy to blush in slight embarrassment.

Before anything else could be said, her brother started bursting out into laughter before shouting out a few insults regarding him. This quickly degenerated into a small bit of arguing between both houses. That was, at least, until Draco discovered the Remembrall that Neville ended up dropping.

"Give that here, Malfoy." Harry said as he made a move towards the blond boy.

Draco gave the bespectacled boy an amused smirk. "I think I'll just leave it for Longbottom to find- in a tree." He leapt onto his broomstick and shot off into the air.

As an angered Harry prepared to fly off on his own broom, Hermione attempted to shout at him. "No, Madam Hooch told us not to move- You'll get us all in trouble!" The green-eyed boy, however, ignored her completely and took off into the air. As Hermione let off a huff, she noticed something being held out in front of her. Glancing to the side, she saw that it was a certain cat-girl.

"Wanna crisp, Hermione?" Ranma asked as she held a small bag of them in her other hand. She was effortlessly resting her back against her broom, which was hovering at a vertical slant as she floated a few centimeters above the ground. It was as if she were sitting in a reclining chair. On the other side of her, Gosaria was calmly enjoying a potato chip.

"Err- No thanks." Hermione answered before pointing to the airborne Harry and Draco. "Can't you do something about them?"

The cat-girl shrugged as she popped a chip into her mouth. "Their minds are made up, and the only way I could possibly do anything is if I bust them upside their heads and drag them down to the ground." She gave her brown-haired friend a smirk. "But why should I destroy their pride and ruin such a fun show? Expulsion is a little extreme," At least, from what she figured after her talk with Dumbledore, "So they'll probably just get a good amount of detention handed to their backsides." Watching the confrontation at hand, Ranma could tell that the Potter boy had some skill at flying. Nothing that could really compare to her own, of course, but he was good.

"So they sew what they reap, right?" Gosaria asked.

"Err- Yes," Hermione said, "But the phrase you are looking for is-"

"HARRY POTTER!" The shout from Professor McGonagall caused everyone to nearly jump. It was obvious that the boy in question was nervous about being caught in the act. "Never- In all my time at Hogwarts-" The witch in green was nearly speechless about the whole ordeal, and after silencing the Patil girl and Ron, she dragged Harry away from the assembled group.

"Too bad," Ranma said as she put away her bag of chips. She was hoping that the boy would have been able to elude getting caught. "But at least he went down putting on an excellent show."

Ron heard her statement and directed a glare towards her. "Harry got into trouble because of your brother, Malfoy."

The cat-girl raised an eyebrow. "In case you're forgetting, he was the one who lost control and jumped onto the broom. If he would have ignored Draco, then this never would have happened." She wished she could genetically transform the redheaded boy into something smaller and less annoying. Sadly, she still had to learn how to properly do it, because if she tried it right now, it was likely that the boy would be turned into goo.

Once Madam Hooch returned, they quickly resumed their flying lessons. After showing that she could do the necessary task correctly, Ranma stopped riding the broom in the conventional way and started to toy around. Instead of sitting on the broomstick correctly, she positioned herself in various ways that would have been outright dangerous to anyone else.

One thing she did was stand on top of it as if it were a surf board, zooming around the small area and performing various kinds of tricks in the process. Madam Hooch finally gave up on trying to get Ranma to do it correctly and concentrated her efforts on helping everyone else out who needed it. One thing was definitely for certain. If the girl ever played Quidditch, she would be absolutely brilliant at the game.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening, Ranma - clad in an oversized shirt and panties with a towel draped over her drying head - was lying on her stomach upon the common room floor. She heard a couple girls tell her that she should put on some trousers, and an older female student had event attempted to force her into a nightgown. Luckily, it was relatively easy to scare them away from her. It wasn't like she was trouncing around in the nude or anything, so why should anybody care? They were all more or less afraid to even come near her out of fear of what she could do to them. Everyone also took great care to stay away from her tail, so that they didn't accidentally step on it and earn her wrath.

She was ready to start enacting the massive prank that she had considered since earlier, but she would need to plan it out first. This was why Laira was sitting in front of her, just centimeters away from her face. The cabbit was all for helping her mother with come up with where and how to strike, because she, too, felt as if the place was a tad too boring. A little excitement was what the place would need.

'Are you ready, Lai?' Ranma asked.

'Whenever you are, momma.'

Giving a small nod, the cat-girl tilted her head downward. This allowed the cabbit to move in close and touch the gem on her head to her mother's forehead. The gem instantly started to glow, and those who were still in the area found themselves wondering what was happening.

In Ranma and Laira's currently connected and shared mind, the area appeared as a black void. A split-second later, a tiny digital character appeared with a sign that read 'Helpful Map Guide'. The screen instantly flashed to one that displayed a colorful, simplified map of the Milky Way Galaxy broken into overlapping sections. A small part quickly flashed yellow before popping up with a new screen that displayed a similar simplified imagery, this time it was of both the Earth and Moon before switching to the surface of the Earth in the vicinity of Europe. Beyond that, the map focused in on the United Kingdom before moving closer and closer until displaying an elevation map detailing a tiny digital Hogwarts, along with the lake, Quidditch pitch, and a couple trees showing the Forbidden Forest. Finally, the view zoomed in on the inside of the castle before displaying an overlay of the seven floors and known towers that Ranma and Laira had knowledge of via exploring.

The entire process of going from a galaxy wide spectrum to a view of the insides of Hogwarts took a mere instant to accomplish, incalculable to any known time variable available in existence. Despite the fact that the mapping was displayed in a simplified, condensed way, if any normal person were to experience it, their mind would possibly break at the sheer amount of information entering their mind. When Ranma first attempted to try it out when she was two, she became completely overwhelmed in trying to sort everything out and lost consciousness for several hours.

'So, where should we begin, Lai?' Ranma asked as a tiny, vague digital her appeared in the area of the screen that the Slytherin common room was located, waving its stubby little arms in a happy manner.

They quickly took to tossing ideas around as small marks appeared on the map in the locations that they would attack. A clock up in the corner gave off details of how long it would take to get through setting everything, and if they could get everything done before the next morning. When they found that something would take too long to do, they either tossed that out or attempted to see if they could modify another prank so that it wouldn't take as much time.

Once figuring out their exact course of action, and knowing the time that it would take, Ranma and Laira pulled away from each other. 'Did you get all that, Lai?' The cat-girl asked as she sat up. The map and details that they sorted out was still fresh in her mind.

The cabbit nodded with a wide smile. She was able to keep all the information, and so knew what to do just like her mother. 'So when are we going to start it, momma?'

'When all of the girls in our dorm are asleep.' Ranma answered. The curtains to their bed would prevent anybody from noticing that they're gone if they wake up, and she could always arrange some pillows and blankets to make sure it seemed like she was in bed. 'Lai, we are going to have some fun tonight.'

Laira gave off a mental giggle in response.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes:

And so to get rid of her boredom, Ranma has decided to pull a rather large prank.

Another note, I'm aware that people are waiting for chapters of my other stories, but I'll let this be known. I haven't really worked on any fanfiction in over a year. What I've been releasing over the last few months are the chapters of Wild Magic that I finished before I stopped writing/decided to take a break. It's not really that I'm favoring this story over the others, (I'm most fond of Ralts in Moonlight, Surviving Mau, and Take the Green and Go out of all my stories, to be honest) but it's that the chapters I have are from this story that I went about finishing.

Eventually, I DO want to get back to those other stories, and I DO want to get back into writing. At this moment, though, I'm mostly releasing the rewrites that I had finished.


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